Mary Virginia Kelly Smith

Virginia Smith is an associate at the Firm, primarily practicing in the areas of Trucking and Transportation, Insurance Defense, Commercial Litigation, General Civil Litigation, Family Law, and Estate Planning and Successions.

Virginia has extensive experience in commercial and construction litigation, business formations and commercial real estate transactions. She previously served as In-House Counsel for a real estate development and construction company, where she gained expert knowledge in the Louisiana Condominium Act, and participated in the development and construction of hundreds of thousands of square feet of commercial buildings. She is also experienced in family law, estate planning and successions, where she combines both her professional and academic experience with compassion and care for her clients.

A native of Baton Rouge, Virginia received her B.A. in Psychology from Louisiana State University in 1999 followed by her J.D. from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University in 2002. During this time, she clerked with the 20th Judicial District Court in both East and West Feliciana Parishes. She is licensed to practice before all state courts throughout Louisiana and before the federal courts in the Middle and Western Districts of Louisiana. She is also a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association.

In addition to her legal work, Virginia serves our community through her volunteer work with Companion Animal Rescue of Ascension (“CARA’s House”), where she is a current board member and past President. Through her service with CARA’s House, she successfully negotiated a cooperative agreement with Ascension Parish and took over operations of their 3,000-per-year open intake animal shelter. As a result, the shelter previously had a euthanasia rate of 85% and now operates as a “no kill” shelter.

Virginia is an avid equestrian and show jumping rider. She and her husband Philip reside in Covington with their five dogs, one cat and two horses.