Jordan Smith, Partner - Pisanelli Bice

Education:

University of Iowa, B.A. with Honors, Political Science and International Studies, 2007
Drake University Law School, J.D. with High Honors, 2010

Professional Awards:

Vegas Inc. 40 Under 40
Best Lawyers in America, 2016 Lawyer of the Year, Appellate Practice - Las Vegas
Nevada Business Magazine - Legal Elite, Best Up & Coming Attorneys
Mountain States Super Lawyers - Appellate - Rising Star
Nevada Business Magazine - Legal Elite
Desert Companion Magazine - Top Lawyers 2014, Litigation

Professional Memberships:

State Bar of Nevada
The Federalist Society

Bar and Court Admission:

Nevada
U.S. District Court, District of Nevada
Eastern District of Texas
U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
U.S. Court of Federal Claims
United States Supreme Court

Publications:

J. Smith, “Fighting For Regulation: Mixed Martial Arts Legislation In The United States,” Drake Law Review (2010).
J. Smith, “No Spin: Why Judge Posner’s Roulette Player Can Recover His Orange Chip,” Gaming Law Review and Economics (2011).
J. Smith, “The Iowa Supreme Court’s Flawed Application of Gaming Law Principles in Blackford v. Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino,” Gaming Law Review and Economics (2013).
J. Smith, “Faux Canons,” Journal of Law (2014).
J. Smith, “Know Your Appellate Audience” Nevada Business (2015).
J. Smith, The Nevada Court of Appeals Delivers on Its Promise, Nevada Lawyer (2016).
J. Smith, Cheater’s Justice: Judicial Recourse for Victims of Gaming Fraud, UNLV Gaming Law Journal (2017).
J. Smith, Posner, Circuit Judge, Sitting by Designation in the District Courts, Regent University Law Review (2018).
J. Smith, “Delegation in Business and in Law” Nevada Business (2019).
J. Smith, “The ‘Argue from Home’ Era” Nevada Business (2020).
J. Smith, “Socially Distanced Separation of Powers,” Nevada Independent (2020).

CLE Presentations and Speaking Engagements

The Nevada Supreme Court by the Numbers (2016)
Debate on Nationwide Injunctions (2019)

EXPERIENCED IN LITIGATION, APPEALS, AND MORE.

Mr. Smith joined the firm in 2012 and returned after serving as Deputy Solicitor General of Nevada. His practice focuses on appellate and complex litigation.

Mr. Smith has been involved in some of Nevada’s most high-profile litigation. He has argued over twenty times in various state and federal appellate courts on a range of issues, including business disputes, administrative law, bankruptcy, habeas corpus, and the death penalty. He has also litigated several election law matters. Mr. Smith has authored numerous merits and amici briefs at the trial, intermediate, and United States Supreme Court levels. He has published multiple scholarly articles on subjects ranging from gaming law, statutory interpretation, and appellate practice.

While at the Nevada Attorney General’s Office, Mr. Smith represented the state in many constitutional cases and matters of statewide or national importance. He was lead counsel in the state’s first method of execution challenge since 2006, won a nationwide injunction against an unlawful federal regulation in a multi-state lawsuit, and successfully defended the state in the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit against an effort to jumpstart the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste project.

Mr. Smith has been recognized by his peers as one of Nevada’s leading litigators, including being named by Best Lawyers as the “Appellate Practice Lawyer of the Year” for Las Vegas. He is a member of the Nevada Rules of Appellate Procedure Commission.

Mr. Smith enjoys giving back to his community. He has argued pro bono appeals in conjunction with the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada and regularly volunteers for the Special Olympics of Southern Nevada.

Jordan T. Smith, Partner
jts@pisanellibice.com
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