Mr. Smith is a partner at Daw & Ray, L.L.P. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Bradley University and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Southern Methodist University. He has been licensed to practice law in the State of Texas since 1985. He is also admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, United States District Courts for the Northern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas, and the United States District Court for Colorado. He has been Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 1994. 

Before joining Daw & Ray, Mr. Smith held a variety of first chair litigator positions with panel insurance defense firms and as an in-house litigator with insurance companies. Mr. Smith has managed the Staff Counsel Houston, Texas office for a Fortune 100 carrier and served as the Regional Subrogation Counsel for a Fortune 100 carrier. His areas of practice include construction defect litigation, construction liens/contracts, general civil and commercial litigation, transportation litigation, employment litigation, healthcare litigation, insurance “bad faith” litigation, products liability litigation, premises liability litigation, large loss property subrogation litigation, dram shop litigation, brain injury litigation, quadriplegic injury litigation, railroad crossing litigation, aviation litigation, Jones Act and maritime law litigation, worker’s compensation litigation, and Longshore and Harbor Worker’s Act litigation. 

At Daw & Ray, Mr. Smith’s practice is focused on continuing his strong record of success. Mr. Smith successfully argued the case of Frymire Engineering Company, Inc., by and through real party in interest, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company v. Jomar International, Ltd., 259 S.W.3d 140, before the Texas Supreme Court. This first impression case has been cited by scores of state and federal courts when analyzing application of the doctrine of equitable subrogation in a construction defect context.  Besides  successfully defending companies and individuals in hundreds of lawsuits filed in the federal courts and in over 100 different Texas counties, Mr. Smith has recovered in excess of 55 million dollars in cash and credits on behalf of his subrogation clients.