Mark E. Smith

Personal Introduction

Mr. Smith began his professional career with the Houston Police Department where he served the community as a patrol officer, narcotics investigator, narcotics detection dog handler, and police sergeant for more than 20 years. Mr. Smith calls on his prior experience as a police officer to serve his legal clients better. He leads businesses through stressful situations, including litigation, data security incidents, negotiations, and other business disruption. Mr. Smith wants to understand not just the immediate issue, but the client’s business as a whole and the full context and history of any dispute or problem. As he did as a police officer, Mr. Smith embraces the acronym LEAD – Listen to the client, Evaluate the issue, Answer questions, and Do what needs to be done. During his legal career, Mr. Smith has focused his attention on protecting the rights of businesses and individuals in commercial disputes brought in court, arbitration or before administrative agencies. He also counsels clients regarding the best solutions to avoid litigation and proactively protect themselves from any potential litigation. Mr. Smith has represented clients in many disputes across numerous industries and subject matters, including automotive franchise and distribution, breach of contract, intellectual property licensing, construction, energy, and personal injury. Mr. Smith also has experience counseling clients on data privacy laws and regulations and leading clients through the response to data breaches. The data privacy landscape is ever changing and Mr. Smith works to provide clients with strategies to mitigate exposure to litigation and regulatory enforcement actions that often result from data breaches. His experience includes assisting clients in meeting their statutory notice obligations under both state and federal statutes and regulations. Mr. Smith is an active member in the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Texas, the Houston Bar Association, the Texas Young Lawyers Association, the Houston Young Lawyers Association and the Woodlands Bar Association. While in law school, Mark was the Senior Notes and Comments Editor, Houston Law Review and a member of the Order of the Coif; Order of the Barons.