J.D. Smith of Mercer Island, Washington is a veteran trial lawyer with 27 years of experience. J.D. has tried over 60 civil jury trials to verdict and completed over 100 arbitrations. J.D. is a former member of the American Bar Association (ABA) House of Delegates and a former President of the Washington State Bar Association Young Lawyers Division.
In 2011, J.D. was admitted into the prestigious American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). He is a past President of the Washington State ABOTA Chapter, has served on the National ABOTA Executive Committee and as Secretary and Treasurer of the National ABOTA Foundation.

He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the National Center for State Courts. Since its founding in 1971, the NCSC has played a key role in the development of court administration worldwide. He is the Immediate Past Director of the ABOTA/ABA Trial Academy having served on faculty for the past 8 years. He served on the two most recent ABOTA Trial College Faculties at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law in August, 2024 and August 2025. J.D. is a Life Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and a regular instructor with the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) and the National Business Institute (NBI).

He obtained his undergraduate and law degrees from Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth, Texas. The TWU Law School was later acquired by Texas A & M.