David Ryan Smith

David R. Smith is a trial lawyer in the firm’s Litigation Group. His practice focuses on commercial and real estate-related litigation. He is admitted to practice law in New York State.

Mr. Smith’s education and entire career has been dedicated to honing his skills as a litigator. Mr. Smith spent eight and a half years as an Assistant District Attorney at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. He served under the legendary Robert M. Morgenthau and, in 2010, under District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. During his tenure as an Assistant District Attorney, Mr. Smith conducted sixteen felony trials, two misdemeanor bench trials, numerous hearings, and dozens of grand jury presentations. He was the lead prosecutor on over a thousand cases of all varieties, including Homicide, Sex Trafficking, Rape, Robbery, Grand Larceny, Identity Theft, and Narcotics. Mr. Smith has interviewed over a thousand witnesses and interrogated hundreds of defendants. In 2012 he rose to the position of Criminal Court Supervisor in the Trial Division and supervised approximately fifteen attorneys in all aspects of both Criminal Court and Supreme Court.

Since 2011 Mr. Smith has also been an Adjunct Professor of Trial Advocacy at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University where he has taught students about all aspects of trial, including evidence, procedure, opening and closing statements, direct and cross examination of witnesses, and witness preparation.

In 2013 Mr. Smith was chosen to serve as a faculty member for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy, where he provided critique and feedback to practicing attorneys and law students during intensive trial advocacy courses aimed at enhancing trial advocacy skills and persuasive techniques.

In 2002 he received his B.A. in Criminal Justice and Spanish from Ohio Northern University. In 2005 he received his law degree from the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University. While at Hofstra University, Mr. Smith was a member of the Hofstra Law Review and Vice President of the Moot Court Board. As a law student he received the Judge Edward Hart Memorial Scholarship for Excellence in Trial Advocacy, George and Sadie Krulik Award for Outstanding Performance in Advanced Trial Advocacy, and Ruskin Moscou Faltischek, P.C. Advocacy Award. In 2005, the New York State Bar Association awarded Mr. Smith with the Anthony DeMarco Jr. Best Advocate Award.