Attorneys

Mr. Smith, a director of the Firm, practices in the Business Section with a concentration in commercial real estate.  He has substantial documentation and negotiation experience in representing a broad range of clients, including landlords, tenants, developers and lenders.

Each year he handles numerous sales transactions involving retail, office, warehouse, distribution center, manufacturing and multifamily residential properties throughout the United States, counseling sellers and purchasers from initial contract negotiation through title and survey review, entity formation, financing and closing.  His work in this area has also included several multi-state, multi-property transactions.

In the landlord and tenant arena, he counts among his recent clients several regional and national tenants, whom he has assisted on a wide variety of different leasing scenarios including traditional mall, power center, outlet mall, and stand alone sites.  He also regularly represents landlord-developers in the initial construction, leasing, refinancing, and redevelopment of retail, multi-family residential, and office properties.

Lender representation has also constituted a significant portion of Mr. Smith's practice.  He has advised national lending institutions as well as local and regional banks in documenting and performing due diligence for construction and permanent loans ranging from individual development financing to large credit facilities secured by national and international real estate portfolios.

One of Mr. Smith's long time clients is a legislatively created water district in east Texas, for whom he performs work in the leasing, permitting, regulatory, and environmental areas.

Real estate, corporate, banking, governmental and regulatory.

Dallas Bar Association; Real Property Section of the State Bar of Texas; International Council of Shopping Centers.

State Bar of Texas, 1998.

"Lender Issues in Shopping Center Finance," October 2007, Roundtable leader, ICSC Annual Law Conference

"Easement Drafting, Amendment and Termination," May 2006, Law of Easements: Legal Issues and Practical Considerations in Texas

"Drafting Lease Default and Remedies Provisions," Co-author July 2003, Advanced Real Estate Law Course, State Bar of Texas

"Mortgage Foreclosure," October 2002, Advanced Real Estate Short Course, University of Houston Law Foundation

Past Member of Board of Directors, Plano Symphony Orchestra; Member of Dallas Symphony Chorus; Volunteer, Dallas Housing Crisis Center

Vanderbilt University, J.D., 1998; University of Alabama, M.M., 1992; University of Alabama, B.M. magna cum laude, 1990; Phi Beta Kappa, Mortar Board, National Merit Scholar.