Zach Smith counsels water users through their most pressing water supply challenges. For more than a decade, Zach has guided water clients in a broad range of contexts, including contentious water rights litigation, high-value water rights transactions, as well as strategic water supply planning for farms, landowners, and the environment. He has secured wins in groundbreaking water rights litigation, but believes that collaborative approaches often result in the best, most sustainable outcomes for clients. His creativity has guided clients on innovative floodwater capture projects, water supply considerations in major renewable energy deals, and in multi-party water transfers and exchanges.

Zach has particular experience with California and Colorado’s water markets, the future of the Colorado River, California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), and US Bureau of Reclamation issues.

Beyond legal work, Zach cares deeply about building the pipeline of young water professionals. He helped develop a water fellowship program at California State University’s Agricultural Research Institute, is currently a member of the University of Denver Water Law Review’s advisory board, the leadership board of Water UCI, and has taught agricultural water resources at Cal Poly Pomona’s Don B. Huntley College of Agriculture. O’Melveny’s Newport Beach office awarded Zach its pro bono award in 2024 and 2025, and its Mentor of the Year Award in 2025.