About

D. Todd Smith

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 chair of the Austin Bar Association's Civil Appellate Law Section and is immediate past president 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 firms.  He is admitted to practice in Texas and before the United States District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas, the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fifth, Seventh, and Tenth Circuits, and the Supreme Court of the United States.  He is board certified in Civil Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Brandy M. Wingate

Brandy Wingate specializes in appellate law and practices in McAllen, Texas.  Brandy joined the Smith Law Group 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.

   Civil Appellate Law