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 and co-chair 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 has published numerous articles and newsletters on e-discovery issues, and is a contributing author in the PBI Press book entitled “eDiscovery,” published most recently in 2011. He also is a charter member of the E-Discovery Special Master panel for the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, and is a member of Working Group 1 of The Sedona Conference, a leading e-discovery think tank. Mr. Smith also is an adjunct professor who teaches a post-graduate course on e-discovery at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh.
Mr. Smith has litigation and trial experience in a variety of commercial litigation matters, including insurance coverage, environmental, and toxic tort matters, and has represented 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 one of the only Clean Water Act jury trials to be tried in the country in the last decade. In May 2011, he tried and obtained a favorable jury verdict for a hedge fund advisor in a defamation case. Mr. Smith also has advised 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.
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.
Selected Records and E-Discovery Presentations