Micah W. J. Smith
Counsel
Micah Smith is a counsel in O’Melveny’s Washington, DC office and a member of the Appellate Practice. Since joining the firm, Micah has successfully argued in the D.C. Circuit and the D.C. Superior Court; drafted appellate and trial court briefs on subjects including federal and state constitutional law, administrative law, labor law, ERISA, securities law, and criminal procedure; played a drafting and strategic role on trial teams in federal and state court; and advised in white collar criminal investigations. Micah also has an active pro bono practice.
Illustrative Professional Experience
- Successfully briefed and argued, as court-appointed amicus curiae, the position of the appellant in Kevin Jones v. Michael Astrue, 2011 WL 2652393 (D.C. Cir. 2011).
- Successfully briefed and argued the cause of the D.C. Public Charter School Board in KIMA v. D.C. Public Charter School Board, Case No. 2010 CA 006091 (D.C. Super. Ct. 2011).
- Coauthored successful appellate briefing in a billion-dollar case involving patent, civil procedure, and discovery questions.
- Coauthored a successful motion to dismiss and appellate briefing in a Railway Labor Act lawsuit presenting statutory issues of first impression.
- Coauthored successful appellate briefing on behalf of a pharmaceutical company in a billion-dollar class action lawsuit.
- Coauthored district court and appellate briefing in a pending administrative law challenge brought on behalf of a prominent industry trade group.
- Coauthored motions to dismiss, oppositions to motions for class certification, and appellate briefs in pending ERISA cases raising statutory, administrative law, and constitutional questions.
- Advised individuals appointed to high-level Executive Branch positions on various ethics laws and ethical obligations.
- Coauthored agency comment letters in Securities and Exchange Commission and National Mediation Board notice-and-comment proceedings.
- Coauthored an expert legal opinion on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for a judicial proceeding in a foreign court; and representation of a client in a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigation.
Professional Activities
Law Clerk, Honorable David H. Souter, US Supreme Court; Honorable Guido Calabresi, US Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
Author, “Popular Metadoctrinalism,” 1
Harv. L. & Pol’y Rev. 507 (2007); “Note, The Fourth Amendment and Antidilution,” 119
Harv. L. Rev. 2187 (2006); “Recent Case, United States v. Scott,” 119
Harv. L. Rev. 1630 (2006); “Recent Case, Ford Motor Co. v. Todecheene,” 118
Harv. L. Rev. 2469 (2005)