Alton Smith

Mr. Smith practices personal injury defense, environmental law, corporate law, bankruptcy, and professional negligence. His experience includes federal appellate and magisterial matters, exoneration, and various litigation matters. Originally from Virginia, Mr. Smith joined the firm following a clerkship with the Honorable Judge Jon York of the United States District Court, Western District of Tennessee. At Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, the University of Memphis, Mr. Smith was a Writing Fellow and Humphrey's Fellow. He was also an active member of the board for the Memphis Law Review and was the brief writer for the Duberstein Bankruptcy Moot Court Team. Mr. Smith proudly served for AmeriCorps from 2017 to 2019. Having recently relocated from Tennessee, Mr. Smith enjoys everything Santa Fe has to offer: nature, the arts, and, most importantly, his family.

Practice Areas:

• Personal Injury Defense

• Environmental Law

• Corporate Law

• Professional Negligence

• Bankruptcy

Professional Experience:

• Law Clerk to the Honorable Magistrate Judge Jon York, United States District Court, Western District of Tennessee

• Legal Extern to the Tennessee Innocence Project

• Summer Law Clerk for Hinkle Shanor LLP

• Legal Extern to the Honorable Judge Bernice Donald (ret.), United States Circuit Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit

• College Advisor through Americorps with College Possible

Education:

• Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, the University of Memphis

  • Memphis, TN

  • Juris Doctor, Cum Laude, May 2024

  • Notes Editor, Memphis Law Review

  • Dean’s Writing Fellow, Legal Writing Center

  • Humphey’s Fellow, Research Assistant to Professor David. S. Romantz

  • Cali Award (Legal Methods I, Legal Methods II, Judicial Writing Seminar)

  • Dean’s Award for Excellence in Legal Methods II (Outstanding Oral Advocate, Outstanding Brief)

  • Duberstein Bankruptcy Moot Court Team (1st place in Sixth Circuit)

  • Dean’s Distinguished Pro Bono Award – Bronze (60 hours or more)

• Oberlin College

  • Oberlin, OH

  • B.A. in Africana Studies and Sociology, Cum Laude, May 2017

  • Captain of Oberlin College Ultimate Frisbee

  • Executive Board, Oberlin College Kosher/Halal Co-op

Languages: English

Bar Admissions:

• New Mexico 2025

  United States District Court, District of New Mexico

Publications and Presentations:

“The Human-Caused Natural Event: Examining the Future of the Clean Air Act’s Exceptional Events Rule” –published by the Environmental Law Section, Tennessee Bar Association (https://www.tba.org/?pg=HastingsRunner-Up).