Gina Gutru Smith

Gina G. Smith is a Partner at Butler Pappas. Gina devotes her practice to first party property coverage matters, primarily involving suspected arson and insurance fraud. Prior to joining the firm, Gina was a prosecutor for twelve years and was Deputy Chief Assistant for the Florida Office of Statewide Prosecution. While with that office, she did extensive work in the areas of white collar crime, health care fraud and insurance fraud. She has considerable jury trial experience, was board certified in criminal trial law until shifting to civil practice, and is rated AV by Martindale-Hubbell.

Gina received her Bachelor of Arts degree, with honors, in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley (1975) and her Masters in Public Administration from the University of Southern California (1977). She graduated, with honors, from the Florida State University College of Law and was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1987. Gina also admitted to practice before the U.S. District Courts, the Northern, Middle and Southern Districts of Florida, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th and 11th Circuits.

Gina was an instructor at the inaugural Department of Financial Services Law Enforcement Investigators Academy in 2008.  She has been certified by the Department of Insurance as an instructor for continuing education courses in several areas, including industrial fire, personal, commercial, and general lines. Since joining Butler Pappas in 1999, Gina has been a frequent instructor at the Florida State Fire College, Florida Advisory Committee on Arson Prevention (FACAP) Annual Seminars, the Annual Windstorm Insurance Conference, the Florida Insurance Fraud Education Committee Annual Conferences and other claims association seminars on many topics, including criminal and civil arson and insurance fraud issues, general claims investigation and handling practices, attorney and adjuster ethics, trial testimony and demeanor, search and seizure, interviews and interrogations, racketeering and organized fraud.

Gina is Vice-President of the Northern Florida Chapter of the Claims & Litigation Management Alliance (CLM), Co-Chair of the CLM Insurance Fraud Committee Litigation Magazine Sub-Committee, Board member of the Florida Chapter of the National Society of Professional Insurance Investigators (NSPII), past President and current Legislative Committee Chair of the Florida Advisory Committee on Arson Prevention, and member of the Florida P & C Insurance Fraud Task Force, International Association of Arson Investigators, Defense Research Institute, American Bar Association Tort Trial Insurance Practice Section-Property Insurance Law Committee, and Tallahassee Bar Association.