David M Smith

Experience

David’s L&E practice has been spent representing business employers and their management teams in the full range of disputes with employees and unions. David is engaged by clients in serious management situations that frequently involve the senior people who work for the client.

David’s work includes federal and state cases alleging employment discrimination, breach of contract, wage and hour violations and mine safety violations among many others. David has led successful efforts in 2021-22 to obtain multiple labor union injunctions and TRO’s, tried two NLRB trials and remains highly active and effective in litigation cases with lots at stake. He has handled major cases against private plaintiff lawyers as well as many divisions of the United States Department of Labor. This includes serving as lead trial counsel in one of the longest and most significant administrative law trials ever held under the Federal Mine Safety Law and serving as lead trial counsel in another pair of marathon “working time” jury trials, in the then-largest FLSA claim ever brought by the United States Department of Labor.

Working on behalf and alongside his clients, David has successfully defended and tried to verdict numerous other jury and non-jury labor and employment cases. He has presented oral arguments in the Alabama Supreme Court and the United States Courts of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and the D.C. Circuit. In these appellate cases, David has had the privilege of arguing before Judge Frank Johnson, Judge Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Judge Clarence Thomas, two of whom later became Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court. In addition to his litigation practice, David advises clients on discipline, contracts, policies, arbitrations, RIF’s and benefits in all types of employment and labor relations matters.

David also presents lectures and seminars to clients and colleagues on numerous topics. He provides training to numerous clients’ human resources personnel and workforces at large. David has also conducted employment law compliance audits for businesses all over the country. His peers also look to him for practical knowledge as David has presented papers and lectures to other lawyers at state and national CLE meetings on labor and employment law topics across the country.

He received a J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law and holds a B.A. magna cum laude Phi Beta Kappa from Birmingham-Southern College.

Practice Areas

Employment & Labor Law

Non-Competes, Unfair Competition & Trade Secrets

Natural Resources

Business Advisory Services