PRACTICE AREAS

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Business Litigation

Judge Edwin Hodel Smith joined the Firm as a shareholder in July 2007 having just retired from the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, after serving nearly three decades at various levels of the Missouri judiciary. Judge Smith was appointed to the Court of Appeals by Governor Mel Carnahan in 1995 and served as the Chief Judge of the Court from July 2004 to July 2006. Prior to his appointment to the Court of Appeals, Judge Smith served as the Presiding Judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit (Andrew and Buchanan Counties) from January 1989 until his appointment to the Court of Appeals. Prior to being elected a Circuit Judge, only one year after his graduation from law school, Judge Smith was elected the first-ever Associate Circuit Judge of Andrew County in 1978 at the age of 26, making him one of the youngest judges ever elected in Missouri.

Judge Smith’s background in the law is widely diverse and extensive. As a Circuit Judge and Associate Circuit Judge for nearly seventeen years, he presided over thousands of cases in nearly every area of the law, both civil and criminal, including complex business litigation, products liability, wrongful death, personal injury, medical malpractice, family law, administrative law, probate law, juvenile law, and criminal felonies and misdemeanors. As an appellate judge for nearly twelve years, Judge Smith authored over 800 opinions dealing with nearly every aspect of the law. Judge Smith’s opinions are routinely cited by judges and attorneys all over the state as being definitive statements of the law. Judge Smith gained a reputation as a legal expert and scholar in the areas of civil and criminal procedure, evidence, and family law. He has been asked to teach and speak on various topics at the Missouri Trial College and seminars around the state, including summary judgment, civil procedure, child support, civil and criminal contempt, the Batson procedure, declaratory judgments, and class actions.

COMMUNITY AND BAR INVOLVEMENT

Missouri Bar Association

Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association

St. Joseph Bar Association

Missouri Institute for Justice

Missouri Association of Probate and Associate Circuit Judges

Retired Judge, Past President and Former Board Member

American Judicature Association

Boy Scouts of America

Pony Express Council

Past District Chair

Merit Badge Counselor

Eagle Scout

Tribe of Mic-O-Say (Runner Night Dream)

AAU Girls Basketball Coach for Herzog Hoopstars and Herzog Starzz

Masonic Lodge

Savannah Methodist Church

EDUCATION

J.D., University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law, 1977

A.B., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1974

BAR ADMISSIONS

Missouri, 1977