Grasford W. Smith
Associate
Professional Experience
Named one of the Nation’s 40 Best Advocates under 40 years of age by the National Bar Association and a Rising Star in Law by both the Florida Super Lawyers Magazine and ICABA Media, Mr. Smith maintains a broad complex commercial and business litigation practice working on many “bet-the-company” matters, including contractual disputes, shareholder and board of director disputes, non-competition and confidentiality agreements, real estate litigation, and trade secret litigation. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Smith was a litigation associate in the New York and Washington, D.C. offices of a Wall Street law firm and the West Palm Beach office of an international law firm where he gained extensive experience representing Fortune 500 clients in hostile takeover bids, investigations brought by agencies of the federal and state government, and other complex litigation matters involving billions of dollars. He was also a summer clerk in the Bronx Supreme Court for a trial court judge and in the legal department of Goldman, Sachs & Co and has represented indigent clients in matters before New York Criminal Courts and the New York City Housing Authority.
Education
Mr. Smith earned his Juris Doctor in 2005 from New York University School of Law. While a law student, he was named a Dean’s Scholar for his academic achievement and awarded the prestigious Vanderbilt Medal at graduation for his outstanding contributions to the law school. Mr. Smith also served as the Founding Executive Editor of the NYU Journal of Law and Business, as reported in a New York Law Journal feature article in 2004, and was a teaching assistant in both Legal Research and Writing and Constitutional law. In three years after matriculation, Mr. Smith earned his Bachelor’s Degree in 2002, summa cum laude, from Florida State University’s College of Business, with a major in Management Information Systems. He graduated with the second best overall grade point average in his major, including a 4.0 major grade point average. For his academic achievement, Mr. Smith received Florida State University’s College of Business Achievement Scholarship and was inducted into the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. In his final year at FSU, Mr. Smith also served as President of the Management Information Systems Association and was inducted into the prestigious Seminole Torchbearers for exceptional student leaders.
Professional Activities
Mr. Smith currently serves as the Immediate Past President of the F. Malcolm Cunningham, Sr. Bar Association of Palm Beach County. Mr. Smith is a board member of the Palm Beach County Legal Aid Society and the Black, Latino, Asian Pacific American Alumni Association at NYU School of Law for which he previously served as First Vice President. Mr. Smith was recently appointed by the President of the Florida Bar to serve on the Commission on Review of the Discipline System. Mr. Smith also serves on the Committee for Diversity and Inclusion of the Palm Beach County Bar Association and the Committee for the Southern District of Florida Bench & Bar Conference. Mr. Smith is a Fellow of the Florida Bar Foundation and is member of Sigma Pi Phi, a professional fraternity.
Civic Activities
Mr. Smith served on a panel alongside several sitting Florida Supreme Court Justices at the inaugural Diversity Summit organized by the Palm Beach County Bar Association and was a mediator for the 2010 Electoral Town Hall Forum organized by the Urban League Young Professionals of Palm Beach County. Mr. Smith has also previously served as a judge for a national moot court advocacy competition organized by the American Bar Association. Mr. Smith also serves on the board of the Sickle Cell Foundation of Palm Beach County and the Black Village Voice Political Action Committee. Over many years, Mr. Smith has served as a motivational speaker to many students in the public school system of Florida and New York.