Attorney Profiles

Mr. Smith is a descendent of a Visalia area pioneer farming family. In 1978 he graduated from Brigham Young University receiving a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management with an emphasis in Finance. While in college and after graduation Mr. Smith worked in the title insurance industry where he became licensed as a title examiner. In 1982 Mr. Smith graduated from the University of Santa Clara School of Law. He was also admitted to practice law in the State of California in 1982. While in law school, he was an Associate Editor of the Santa Clara Law Review, and on the Dean's lists. After graduation, Mr. Smith became an associate attorney with the law firm of Packard Packard & Bennion in Palo Alto, California. Mr. Smith returned to the San Joaquin Valley and became an associate with the firm in 1984 and a partner 1987. Mr. Smith practices in the areas of water law, real estate and business transactions and litigation; construction law; estate planning; and probate. Over the years his practice has focused more and more on representing water-related public agencies and entities. For over ten years he has been the lead attorney in a project which enlarged Lake Kaweah. Mr. Smith's current clients include six water-related public entities, six mutual water companies, an agricultural cooperative, a number of commercial construction companies, a local bank and various local businesses, and individuals. He is a member of the Tulare County Bar Association and the State Bar of California. Mr. Smith is also licensed to practice in the federal courts in the Eastern and Northern Districts of California.

Areas of Practice

• Water Law
• Real Estate
• Business Transactions and Litigation
• Construction Law
• Estate Planning
• Probate

Litigation Percentage

• 20% of Practice Devoted to Litigation

Bar Admissions

• California, 1982
• U.S. District Court Northern District of California, 1982
• U.S. District Court Eastern District of California, 1985

Education

• Santa Clara University School of Law, Santa Clara, California, 1982
  J.D.
  Honors: Dean's lists
  Law Review: Santa Clara Law Review, Associate Editor
  
  
• Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, 1978
  B.S.
  Major: Business Management
  
  

Representative Clients

• Friant Water Authority
• Kweah Delta Water Conservation Board
• Lemoore Canal Company
• Corcoran Irrigation District
• Todd Plumbing, Inc.
• Valley Business Bank
• Tule River Cooperative Dryer, Inc.

Professional Associations and Memberships

• Tulare County Bar Association
  Member
  
  
• State Bar of California
  Member
  
  

Past Employment Positions

• Packard Packard & Bennion, Palo Alto, California, Associate

Birth Information

• August 19, 1954, Big Spring, Texas, United States of America