William Roger Smith III

Roger Smith is a leader in our Mass Torts section and practices exclusively in the areas of mass torts and products liability.

Roger received his Bachelor of Arts with honors from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the University of Alabama School of Law. Prior to joining Beasley Allen, Roger worked at defense firms in Phoenix, Ariz., and Knoxville, Tenn., and at a publicly traded company as in-house counsel where he oversaw regulatory compliance.

Since joining Beasley Allen in 2001, Roger has focused his practice on complex litigation involving pharmaceutical and medical device litigation in our Mass Torts section, which is nationally recognized as a leader in drug litigation.

While at Beasley Allen, Roger’s leadership has resulted in the successful resolution of thousands of pharmaceutical cases. Roger served on the teams that negotiated the $4.85-billion Vioxx and the $2.4-billion Actos global settlements. Roger has also served as Lead Attorney in numerous cases where he has negotiated multi-million dollar settlements for our clients, including Rezulin, Serzone, Ephedra, PPA, herbal supplements, Gadolinium, Yaz/Yasmin, and Fleet Oral Phosphosoda.

Most recently, Roger was selected by Judge Cathy Seibel to serve as a member of the Plaintiff Steering Committee to lead the Mirena IUD litigation in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Other current responsibilities include working with the Zoloft Executive and Steering Committees in prosecuting the Zoloft birth defect cases in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and overseeing all administrative aspects of the ongoing Actos global settlement.

Roger is licensed in Alabama, Mississippi, Arizona, Tennessee, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. He is an active member of the Alabama State Bar, serving on the Alabama State Bar Committee on Character and Fitness, and previously serving on the Task Force on Multi-jurisdictional Practice. Roger has been included in Best Lawyers since 2012. In 2015, he was named Beasley Allen Lawyer of the Year for the Mass Torts section.

Roger is married to Claudia C. Kennedy, of Vestavia Hills, Ala. They have three children – Sarah Kennedy, Caroline Cecilia, and Sophia Clare.