Home



Printable Version
Thomas J. Smith  Partner
Pittsburgh  +1.412.355.6758
Fax +1.412.355.6501
thomas.smith@klgates.com Add to Outlook Contacts


Areas of Practice • Professional Background • Professional/Civic Activities • Court Admissions • Bar Admissions • Education • Additional Information

Areas of Practice

Mr. Smith has practiced at K&L Gates since 1987 and is a partner in the firm's Pittsburgh office.  He concentrates his practice in the area of complex commercial litigation.  Mr. Smith is a founding member of the firm's e-Discovery Analysis and Technology (e-DAT) Group, and regularly counsels clients in matters involving complex records preservation and collection issues, litigation "holds," e-discovery, and records management and retention policies.  He also regularly speaks at national and regional conferences on records management and e-discovery issues.  He was a contributing author in the PBI Press book entitled "eDiscovery," published in September 2008.

Mr. Smith has litigation and trial experience in insurance coverage, environmental, and toxic tort matters, and has represented major industrial clients in numerous jurisdictions, including  California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin, as well as in Canada.

Mr. Smith has been lead trial counsel in major insurance coverage and environmental trials, including in early 2001 one of the only Clean Water Act jury trials to be tried in the country in the last decade.  Mr. Smith has also dealt with permitting and regulatory compliance issues at industrial facilities, including the impact of environmental regulations on the construction or demolition of such facilities.   He has represented clients during negotiations with both state and federal environmental agencies, as well as local, county or township officials.  In addition to his general litigation practice, Mr. Smith also has experience in litigating environmental actions before the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board, and in defending actions brought by the federal and/or state government and private parties under CERCLA, RCRA, TSCA and the Clean Water Act.  He has experience in working with experts and consultants in developing strategic litigation positions and comprehensive compliance policies and procedures.

Professional Background

Mr. Smith has spoken at various national and regional seminars on e-discovery, insurance coverage and general litigation matters, and has published articles on these topics.  He is a past co-chair of the ABA Professional Liability Insurance Coverage Sub-Committee, and regularly serves as an arbitrator in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas. Mr. Smith has received an AV® rating from Martindale-Hubbell, its highest rating.

Professional/Civic Activities
  • EHB E-Discovery Rules Committee, Member (August 2007-Present)
  • Allegheny County Bar Association
  • American Bar Association
  • Federal Bar Association
  • Pennsylvania Bar Association
  • Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association
  • Western Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association
  • Former Commissioner, Pine Township Planning Commission
  • Former Council Member, Allegheny County Bar Association Environmental Law Section
  • Lawyer Coach, Pennsylvania High School Mock Trial Competition, 2006 to present

Court Admissions
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
  • Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Courts
  • Pro Hac Vice admission state and federal courts throughout the United States

Bar Admissions
  • Bar of Pennsylvania
Education
  • J.D., Duquesne University School of Law (1987) (Member, Law Review; Assistant Editor, Law School Magazine Juris)
  • B.A., Carnegie Mellon University (1981) (cum laude)
Additional Information

Selected Records and E-Discovery Presentations and Publications

  • "Electronic Discovery: What Every Lawyer Should Know," presented to the Virgin Islands Bar Association on June 18, 2010 in St. Croix, Virgin Islands
  • "E-Discovery: Strategies, Trends and Best Practices," Webinar for Ethisphere presented on June 10, 2010
  • Thirteenth Annual EDRR Conference presented on October 7-8, 2009  in New York , New York
  • "E-Discovery and Records Management Workshop," CLE presented on September 17, 2009 in Moline, IL
  • "What Every In-House Attorney Needs to Know About Records Management," September 2, 2009, Podcast presented with JurInnov Ltd.
  • "E-Discovery 101 Seminar," CLE presented on July 29, 2009 in Chicago, IL
  • "E-Discovery" Seminar by the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Presentation entitled "E-Discovery Explorers," December 9, 2008, in Pittsburgh, PA
  • "Judicial Views on the Use of E-Discovery Experts at the Rule 16 and Rule 26(f) Conferences and Court-Appointed Special Masters," panelist at the Federal Bar Association E-Discovery Series, December 3, 2008, in Pittsburgh, PA
  • "Advanced E-Discovery Issues," presented at T-BoLT (The Best of Legal Technology) Conference, November 11, 2008 in Pittsburgh, PA
  • Berman & Company Legal Council Presentation on E-Discovery, October 3, 2008, Washington, D.C.
  • K&L Gates Alert:  “E-Discovery and the EHB,” October 2008
  • “Scenes from an e-Discovery Case,” presented with Integrator of New Systems, July 30, 2008 in Pittsburgh, PA
  • Co-Author, "eDiscovery," book published by PBI Press, September 2008
  • “E-Discovery: An A to Z Workshop,” Faculty Panelist, June 24-25, 2008 in Cleveland, OH
  • "Now Watch the Lawyers Blitz," Legal Times, March 3, 2008.
  • “E-Discovery and Recent Development, Challenges, and Solutions,” CLE Presentation, February 14, 2008 in Dallas, TX, February 5, 2008 in Cleveland, OH and January 31, 2008 in Detroit, MI
  • "Creating a Strong Foundation for Your Company's Records Management Practices," ACC Docket, November 2007
  • "Electronic Records Management: New Obligations, New Tools," Community Banker, June 2007
  • K&L Gates Alert:  “E-Discovery Sanctions:  A Continuing Trend,” April 2007
  • “E-Discovery and Records Management CLE Course,” presented on January 31, 2007 in Seattle, WA
  • “E-Discovery Ethics CLE Course,” presented on November 23, 2006 in Pittsburgh, PA
  • “Scenes from an E-Discovery Case,” presented for the Directors' Roundtable and the Association of Corporate Counsel on November 3, 2006 in New York City
  • “E-Discovery:  The New Rules, and the Impact on Your Practice,” presented for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute on October 26, 2006 in Pittsburgh, PA
  • “Scenes from an E-Discovery Case,” presented for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute on August 29, 2006 in Philadelphia, PA
  • “Scenes from an E-Discovery Case,” presented for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute on August 23, 2006 in Pittsburgh, PA
  • “The New E-Discovery Rules:  What Lawyers Need to Know,” presented as a national webinar for Strafford Publications on June 28, 2006
  • “The New Federal Rules of Civil Procedure:  What Records Managers Need to Know,” presented to Greater Washington, D.C. Association of Records Managers of America (“ARMA”) on April 19, 2005 in Washington, D.C.
  • Numerous in-house e-discovery educational and training presentations for Fortune 500 companies
  • “E-Discovery Perils:  The AutoArchive Function - Not Gone, But Forgotten,” published in the Privacy & Data Security Law Journal, September 2006
  • K&LNG Alert:  “For How Long Must Your Records Be Retained?”  March 2006
  • K&LNG Alert:   “Preparing for E-Discovery - Top 10 Rules,” March 2004


PRACTICES & INDUSTRIES
Commercial Disputes
e-Discovery Analysis and Technology (e-DAT) Group
Environmental, Land and Natural Resources
Insurance Coverage
Product Liability
Toxic Tort
Newsstand



Terms and Conditions of Use • Privacy Policy • Copyright and Trademark Notice • Use of Cookies • RSS 
©1996-2010 K&L Gates LLP. All Rights Reserved.

K&L Gates is comprised of multiple affiliated entities: a limited liability partnership with the full name K&L Gates LLP qualified in Delaware and maintaining offices throughout the United States, in Berlin and Frankfurt, Germany, in Beijing (K&L Gates LLP Beijing Representative Office), in Dubai, U.A.E., in Shanghai (K&L Gates LLP Shanghai Representative Office), in Tokyo, and in Singapore; a limited liability partnership (also named K&L Gates LLP) incorporated in England and maintaining offices in London and Paris; a Taiwan general partnership (K&L Gates) maintaining an office in Taipei; a Hong Kong general partnership (K&L Gates, Solicitors) maintaining an office in Hong Kong; a Polish limited partnership (K&L Gates Jamka sp. k.) maintaining an office in Warsaw; and a Delaware limited liability company (K&L Gates Holdings, LLC) maintaining an office in Moscow. K&L Gates maintains appropriate registrations in the jurisdictions in which its offices are located. A list of the partners or members in each entity is available for inspection at any K&L Gates office.

Portions of this Web site may contain Attorney Advertising under the rules of some states. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.