About Todd
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., where he was a member of the appellate and litigation groups. Before joining Fulbright, Todd served a two-year clerkship with Texas Supreme Court Justice Raul A. Gonzalez (ret.).
Born and raised in Fort Worth, Todd graduated from Texas Christian University and later attended Texas Tech University, where he received a master’s degree in public administration. 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. He was a member of the St. Mary's National and State Moot Court teams, Phi Delta Phi, and the John M. Harlan Society.
Todd holds leadership positions in various state and local bar associations. He recently completed a three-year term as Editor of the State Bar Appellate Section’s flagship publication, The Appellate Advocate, and is now a member of the Section's governing council. He also serves as Secretary-Treasurer of the Austin Bar Association's Civil Appellate Law Section and is President-Elect of its Solo and Small Firm Section.
Todd is a regular author and speaker on appellate-related topics and teaches an appellate law course at Solo Practice University, an online resource for law students and lawyers looking to start their own practices. He is admitted before all Texas state courts, the United States District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas, and the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Seventh Circuits. He is Board Certified in Civil Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
