SMITH VALLIERE PLLC , Mark W. Smith, Timothy A. Valliere

Mark Smith

Partners

MARK W. SMITH Download v-card

Mark W. Smith is the founder of Smith Valliere PLLC. The national media calls Mr. Smith "one of the fastest rising legal stars in the country." Having worked as a trial lawyer and business attorney for over a decade, Mr. Smith's victories in the courtroom have captured the cover of The New York Times and been reported in every major media outlet. Mr. Smith is also a New York Times bestselling author of several books, a former professor of law, and frequently appears as an expert legal commentator throughout the national media.

After graduating from the New York University School of Law, Mr. Smith clerked for a federal trial court judge. Upon the completion of his clerkship, Mr. Smith joined Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in New York City. From there, he joined the high profile, nationally-recognized law firm of Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP where he was a full partner for several years. In August 2004, The American Lawyer featured Mr. Smith's then-firm in a cover story as "the most profitable law firm in the nation."

Mr. Smith's legal practice covers a broad spectrum of areas including complex commercial disputes in the following areas: business, employment, computer software, securities, civil rights, bankruptcy, constitutional, real estate, intellectual property, medical malpractice, class actions and antitrust matters.

Mr. Smith has tried jury and bench trials in state and federal court and represented clients in arbitrations, mediations, administrative law proceedings, and before governmental regulatory bodies. As co-counsel in a federal jury trial, Mr. Smith won for his clients a million-dollar judgment in a precedent-setting case that a cover story in The New York Times proclaimed to be the largest of its kind in New York history. Mr. Smith represented Texas state legislators before the United States Supreme Court and represented African-American women seeking to start a hair styling company in a highly publicized constitutional challenge to New York state economic regulations.

Mr. Smith has litigated matters involving major international companies such as Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Charles Schwab, Wachovia, A.I.G., Adelphia Communications Corp, Talk Miramax, FoxMeyer Drug Company, Continental Grain Company, Unilever, Salomon Smith Barney, and the U.S. Trust Company.

Outside of the courtroom, Mr. Smith is often sought out as an advisor to companies and individuals seeking to avoid engaging in activities leading to costly disputes or legal liability. Mr. Smith has provided counsel to clients engaged in a wide variety of commercial transactions and business dealings including companies doing business in China, Hong Kong, and the European Union. Mr. Smith has advised clients in connection with matters involving employment, severance, licensing, agency, assignment, intellectual property, film financing, publishing, settlement, and secured lending agreements and arrangements. Mr. Smith has advised creditors, debtors, and debtors-in-possession on bankruptcy issues. He has advised magazines, pet product companies, bestselling authors, bank trustees, bloggers, music organizations, attorneys, and celebrity clients.

As both a former Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Kansas School of Law, and former editor of The Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, Mr. Smith has been recognized as a legal expert by several publications such as Policy Experts 2003: The Insider Guide to Public Policy Experts and Organizations, The Journalist's Guide to Legal Experts, and Policy Experts 2000: A Guide to Public Policy Experts.

Mr. Smith frequently appears as an expert legal analyst throughout the national media and appears regularly on CNN, the Fox News Channel, MSNBC and CNBC. He has also been the subject of numerous articles in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, The Weekly Standard, The Washington Times, The New York Observer, The National Law Journal, Slate, The Hill and ABC News' The Note.

Mr. Smith's professional and personal accomplishments earned him an Alumnus of the Year honor from the University of South Carolina's Honors College and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Bronx, New York Conservative Committee.
Born in Maryland and raised in Vermont, Mr. Smith played semi-professional baseball in the Northern League for the Saxtons River Pirates. He then went on to receive a Bachelors degree in Economics from the University of South Carolina where he was a member of the All American Debate Team. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa.

Timothy Valliere

TIMOTHY A. VALLIERE Download v-card

Tim Valliere is the Managing Partner of Smith Valliere PLLC. He is an experienced "big firm" litigator who has been practicing law for over a decade in the areas of financial services, intellectual property, employment, product liability, and general commercial litigation. He has argued before Federal and State trial courts, arbitrators, and mediators. Most recently, Mr. Valliere was a founding partner of Bushell & Valliere LLP and, previously, was a partner at Schoeman, Updike and Kaufman, LLP. Mr. Valliere also litigated at Bingham McCutchen LLP and Richards & O'Neil LLP.

Mr. Valliere has handled matters involving internationally famous companies such as MGM, Farberware, Rent-A-Center, Lehman Brothers, Disetronic, and Ripley's Believe It or Not. He also has significant experience in large, complex commercial litigations. His legal practice covers complex commercial disputes in the following areas: financial services, business, employment, computer software, securities, intellectual property, and class actions.

As part of his intellectual property practice, Mr. Valliere has advised clients about the registration and protection of their rights and works, contracts, and the purchase and licensing of intellectual property. He has represented clients in numerous intellectual property lawsuits concerning a variety of issues, including those pertaining to computer software, photographs, books, screenplays, films and television programs. Mr. Valliere advised investment fund managers on many matters including intellectual property litigations.

Mr. Valliere's product liability practice includes serving as national and local counsel for national and international pharmaceutical, medical device, and manufacturing companies. Mr. Valliere has defended clients sued by individuals and in mass torts and class actions.

In addition to his litigation experience, Mr. Valliere has advised clients in a wide variety of commercial transactions and business dealings involving software licensing, employment, severance and non-compete agreements, recording contracts, corporate formation, operating agreements, and insurance coverage issues.

Born in Connecticut, Mr. Valliere received his law degree from the New York University School of Law where he edited The Annual Survey of American Law. After law school, Mr. Valliere served as a law clerk in the Eastern District of Louisiana to the Honorable Edith Brown Clement, who now sits on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and whose name frequently appears on the "short list" for an appointment to the United States Supreme Court. Mr. Valliere earned his Bachelors degree from Washington & Lee University in 1984, where he graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, and was honored as a Rhodes Scholar finalist. While at Washington & Lee, Mr. Valliere was a three-time captain of the varsity wrestling team and earned Academic All American Honors in that sport. Mr. Valliere is a member of The Association of the Bar of the City of New York (Secretary, Judiciary Committee, 2004-2005); American Bar Association (Member, Sections on: Litigation, Intellectual Property, and Sports/Entertainment Law); New York State Bar Association; and New York County Bar Association.

GREGG ZIMMER Download v-card

Gregg Zimmer is a Special Counsel at Smith Valliere who has spent more than a decade representing clients ranging from Fortune 500 corporations and major investment banks to small businesses and individuals in complex commercial and employment litigations and antitrust and securities class actions in both state and federal courts, and in arbitrations before the American Arbitration Association, NASD and New York Stock Exchange (now combined as FINRA). Mr. Zimmer has counseled clients on issues relating to business acquisitions, shareholder disputes, governmental investigations and executive employment matters among other issues. Before joining the firm, Mr. Zimmer previously practiced at two internationally respected law firms, Vinson & Elkins LLP and Cadwalader, WIckersham & Taft LLP in their commercial litigation groups.

Mr. Zimmer has handled matters involving top financial institutions such as Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, major industrial and energy companies such as Shell, Saipem, S.p.A., and The Shaw Group. He has conducted internal investigations and represented companies and individuals before the SEC, NYSE, NASD and the New York State Attorney General's Office. He has also represented biotechnology and media companies in patent and copyright disputes, and hospitals, health insurance companies, broker-dealers, executives and media personalities in employment disputes. Mr. Zimmer’s experience in handling disputes includes representing individuals asserting political asylum and First Amendment free exercise of religion claims.

Born and raised on Long Island, New York, Mr. Zimmer graduated summa cum laude from the State University of New York at Stony Brook with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, and received his Juris Doctor degree, cum laude, from the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., where he received the ABA Award for Excellence in the Study of Labor and Employment Law, and edited the Georgetown Law Journal of Legal Ethics. He is a member of the American Bar Association.

Mr. Zimmer is admitted to practice in all New York State courts, the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.