John Da Grosa Smith is the founding member of Smith LLC. Mr. Smith's diverse background in law and business provides a different perspective on delivering exceptional legal services. Mr. Smith began his career at the Office of the District Attorney in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As a new assistant district attorney, Mr. Smith was assigned to the Municipal Court Unit where he handled hundreds of misdemeanor trials, pre-trial motions and felony preliminary hearings. Immediately facing talented, experienced, gritty trial lawyers in the courtroom, he quickly learned to effectively represent the State in what could be characterized as a "baptism by fire." Early on, he developed the skills and substantive knowledge to deal with a high volume of cases involving various crimes such as attempted murder, assault, robbery, burglary, narcotics violations, driving under the influence, theft, and forgery. Mr. Smith was promoted to the Juvenile Court Unit where he prosecuted misdemeanor and felony cases against juveniles. Afterwards, he returned to adult criminal prosecution for the remainder of his service. In the Felony Waiver Unit, and then the Major Trials Unit, Mr. Smith handled serious felony bench and jury trials. One of his more memorable cases was a jury trial involving the assault and robbery of an elderly woman. Mr. Smith's approach in this case reflects one of his cardinal rules of trial advocacy: develop a powerful theme that embodies the case and resonates with the jury. Mr. Smith's theme – "a victim, a villain, and a hero" – led to a guilty verdict and was covered by the Philadelphia Daily News in December 2000. In January 2001, while in the Major Trials Unit, Mr. Smith resigned from the Office of the District Attorney. Mr. Smith pursued an opportunity to supplement his legal training and experience by joining Accenture, a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. As a consultant, he worked on various project teams tasked with developing and implementing business and technology solutions for their clients. Mr. Smith's overall experience with Accenture provided him with a strong business sense and a different paradigm through which to solve problems and deliver solutions. Most significantly, perhaps, he learned the many efficiencies and benefits that result from implementing "best practices" in a consulting engagement and recognized the transferability of those practices in effectively managing litigation. Those practices include: understanding the client’s strategic objectives; identifying and evaluating potential risks; developing a comprehensive plan to effectively and efficiently achieve the client’s goals; setting "milestones" to measure progress and reassess approach; isolating skill sets needed to most effectively obtain the goals and selecting the "right people" for the team; managing costs and budgets; and communicating with the client about progress and promptly reporting issues throughout the various stages. Mr. Smith's decision to step away from the practice of law to develop business, management, problem resolution, and technology skills demonstrates his willingness to defy conventional wisdom and his commitment to bettering himself to better serve his clients. That experience has afforded him the ability to tackle a client’s problems not only from the perspective of a lawyer, but also from the perspective of a consultant. In March 2003, Mr. Smith returned to the practice of law and joined one of the most respected law firms in Atlanta. In private practice, Mr. Smith handled numerous complex civil litigation matters while working alongside some of the most highly-regarded attorneys in Atlanta. Mr. Smith, in doing so, developed traditional "big firm" civil litigation skills and substantive legal knowledge amidst diverse, practice areas. Mr. Smith's focus, early on, was almost exclusively on broker-dealer matters resulting from the market downturn that started in the year 2000. He defended broker-dealers and securities professionals against numerous customer arbitrations before the National Association of Securities Dealers and New York Stock Exchange (collectively now FINRA) involving allegations such as unsuitability, churning, fraudulent research reports, fraudulent misrepresentations and omissions, unauthorized trading, selling away, failure to supervise, and breach of fiduciary duty. He has represented several major full service brokerage firms, financial services companies, and individual registered representatives. Mr. Smith also defended clients against actions to recover fraudulent or preferential transfers in bankruptcy cases. One of his cases involved defending a broker-dealer against a multi-million dollar fraudulent transfer claim brought within a widely-publicized bankruptcy case. The case, which involved several complicated issues including the application of 11 U.S.C. § 546(e) – i.e., the broker-dealer defense – ended with a complete dismissal and established new precedent in the area. Also, Mr. Smith, on behalf of a financial services company, successfully prosecuted a $1.8 million non-dischargeability action in a bankruptcy matter. This action involved both substantive bankruptcy law claims and various securities law claims relating to the harm caused by the debtor who "sold away" from the firm. Mr. Smith has also counseled clients on various bankruptcy-related issues. Outside of bankruptcy, Mr. Smith has protected creditors in a variety of contexts. By way of illustration, he has handled matters involving the failure to repay broker-dealers for contractually owed training costs and forgivable loans, and, leveraging his technology background, has pursued monies owed for the improper use and assignment of licensed software. More generally, Mr. Smith has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in business litigation matters including cases asserting violations of the Georgia Trade Secrets Act, enforcing and challenging restrictive covenants, breaches of fiduciary duty and contract, and derivative claims. He also has experience defending tort actions asserting claims for personal injury and related damages.