D. Todd Smith
Civil Appellate Law
D. Todd Smith is an appellate specialist based in Austin, Texas. He started his own practice in 2006 after spending nearly a decade with the international law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Before joining Fulbright, Todd served a two-year clerkship with Texas Supreme Court Justice Raul A. Gonzalez.
A Fort Worth native, Todd graduated from Texas Christian University and received a master’s degree in public administration from Texas Tech University. He earned his J.D. cum laude from St. Mary’s University School of Law. While in law school, Todd served as editor-in-chief of the St. Mary’s Law Journal and as an intern to Fifth Circuit Judge Emilio M. Garza.
Todd has a statewide practice representing plaintiffs and defendants in all phases of civil appeals and original proceedings. He has handled cases before most of the fourteen intermediate Texas appellate courts, the Texas Supreme Court, and the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fifth, Seventh, and Tenth Circuits. He is also admitted to the United States Supreme Court bar.
A significant part of Todd’s practice takes place in trial courts, where he advises other lawyers and their clients and often serves as additional counsel of record. When engaged as a litigation consultant, he assists trial counsel with strategic analysis and briefing, jury charges, and potentially dispositive motions, all with a focus on preserving error and positioning cases for appellate review.
A committed bar leader, Todd has chaired the Austin Bar Association’s Civil Appellate Law and Solo/Small Firm Sections and recently won election to the Austin Bar Board of Directors. He also serves on the State Bar Appellate Section’s governing council and is former editor of its flagship publication, The Appellate Advocate. He is a fellow of both the Texas Bar and Austin Bar Foundations and serves on the St. Mary’s Law Alumni Board of Directors.
Todd is certified as a specialist in Civil Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. In 2011, he was recognized as a Fifth Circuit litigation star in Benchmark Appellate: The Definitive Guide to America’s Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys.
Brandy M. Wingate
Civil Appellate Law
Brandy Wingate specializes in appellate law and practices in McAllen, Texas. Brandy joined the Smith Law Group in 2011 after serving four years as the senior staff attorney to Justice Gina Benavides at the Thirteenth Court of Appeals in Edinburg. Before her service at the court, Brandy was an associate in Jenkens & Gilchrist, P.C.’s appellate practice group.
Brandy graduated from Texas A&M University with a B.A. in anthropology. She then received her J.D., magna cum laude, from Baylor Law School. At Baylor, Brandy served as editor-in-chief of the Baylor Law Review and as a brief writer on Baylor’s ABA Moot Court team. After law school, she served as a law clerk to former Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas R. Phillips.
Brandy is president of the Hidalgo County Bar Association and is the editor of the association’s award-winning newsletter, The Summons. Brandy is also co-editor-in-chief of the State Bar Appellate Section’s newsletter,The Appellate Advocate. Brandy regularly speaks at legal education courses on appellate-related topics. Brandy also serves on the board of directors for the Texas Young Lawyers Association.
Brandy has represented clients before the Texas Supreme Court, the Texas intermediate courts of appeal, and the Federal Courts of Appeal for the Fifth and Third Circuits. She is board certified in Civil Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Brandy also has extensive experience in criminal appellate matters.
Maitreya Tomlinson
Maitreya Tomlinson joined the Smith Law Group’s Austin office in 2012. Maitreya attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where he earned a degree in English. Later, Maitreya attended Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law. He graduated cum laude and served as the editor-in-chief of the SMU Law Review.
While attending law school, Maitreya interned for former Chief Judge A. Joe Fish of the Northern District of Texas and Justice Elizabeth Lang-Miers of the Fifth Court of Appeals. He was also part of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s summer honors program. Upon completing his J.D., Maitreya served as a law clerk to Texas Supreme Court Justice David Medina.
Before becoming a lawyer, Maitreya was a successful banker at JPMorgan Chase and a mortgage banker at various financial institutions. During his previous career, he held multiple financial licenses, including an insurance license.
Maitreya has successfully briefed and argued appeals in various Texas appellate courts and has briefed and opposed mandamus at the Texas Supreme Court. He also handles a wide variety of matters for trial counsel, including writing and arguing dispositive motions and analyzing insurance coverage issues.