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Biography
A skilled litigator on behalf of seriously injured individuals and their families, Royce W. Smith represents plaintiffs in a wide range of complex civil matters. In the past four years alone, Smith, as lead or co-counsel, has helped victims of negligence win over $48 million in verdicts and settlements. His extensive practice experience includes wrongful death, medical malpractice, birth injuries, brain injuries, auto accidents, construction accidents, defective drugs and medical devices, and civil rights matters. Mr. Smith has also represented crime victims and victims of employment discrimination.
Raised in North Philadelphia, Mr. Smith’s parents and family taught him life lessons that have served him well professionally: to maintain justice, do what is right and give voice to the concerns of the voiceless. His late father pastored a Baptist church in North Philadelphia and his mother is currently an associate pastor of a Baptist church in Mount Airy/Germantown, Philadelphia. Additionally, Smith’s grandfather and uncle pastored a church in Jenkintown, Pa. Today, true to his roots, Mr. Smith provides free counseling at legal clinics hosted by area churches.
Mr. Smith earned a LL.M. in Trial Advocacy from Temple Law and, by faculty vote, was named the program’s top-performing student. He is a graduate of Temple University Beasley School of Law, where he received numerous awards for outstanding trial advocacy and was a member of several nationally recognized mock trial teams. Mr. Smith was recognized for outstanding oral advocacy in appellate argument, twice received the Murray S. Love Award for Excellence in Trial Advocacy, earned the Andrew Gay Award for Excellence in Trial Advocacy and was honored with the James J. Manderino Award for Trial Advocacy. Mr. Smith earned his undergraduate degree in political science from Williams College in Massachusetts. There he won the Lehman Community Service Scholarship and the Sterling B. Brown Citizenship Prize in recognition of his service to the college and the surrounding community.
He serves as a Minority Caucus Delegate to the American Association for Justice and a Minority Caucus Board Member of the Pennsylvania Association for Justice. Mr. Smith also serves on the Editorial Boards of The Verdict, a Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association publication and Young Lawyer, a monthly supplement published by The Legal Intelligencer. He has published numerous scholarly articles and presented educational courses to his peers. Mr. Smith serves as an adjunct professor of trial advocacy at Drexel University’s Earl Mack School of Law and a trial advocacy and evidence instructor for the University's Earl Mack School of Law Trial Team.
Mr. Smith has been recognized by Thomson Reuters, published annually in Philadelphia magazine, as a 2010 and 2011 Pennsylvania Super Lawyer® Rising Star. Only the top 2.5 percent of Pennsylvania’s up-and-coming lawyers appear on the Rising Stars list. He has also been selected as a member of The National Trial Lawyers Association: Top 40 under 40, a professional organization of America's top trial lawyers.
Representative Results:
Mr. Smith served as lead counsel or co-counsel on several notable cases with significant success, including:
· $11,900,000 for brain damaged child in mold contamination suit;
· $4,500,000 for leg and ankle injuries in an elevator accident case;
· $4,150,000 for an amputated leg in a bus accident case;
· $3,200,000 for wrongful death of a woman who died in a trucking accident;
· $3,000,000 for rape and assault on apartment complex grounds;
· $3,000,000 for brain damaged individual who fell over a railing that was below building code;
· $2,200,000 for wrongful death in a medical malpractice case;
· $1,945,000 for wrongful death of a young lady who was crushed by an amusement park ride;
· $1,100,000 for failure to diagnose stroke in a medical malpractice case;
· $1,000,000 for injuries suffered during a work-related automobile accident;
· $900,000 for a lacerated leg in an escalator accident case. Bar Admissions - U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 2004
- U.S. District Court of New Jersey, 2004
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court, 2004
- State of New Jersey, 2004
Education - Temple University Beasley School of Law, LL.M. Trial Advocacy, 2008
- Temple University Beasley School of Law, J.D., 2004
- Williams College, B.A., 2001
Professional Affiliations - American Association for Justice, Minority Caucus Delegate
- American Bar Association
- Drexel University’s Earl Mack School of Law, Trial Advocacy Adjunct Professor
- Drexel University's Earl Mack School of Law, Mock Trial Instructor
- Pennsylvania Association for Justice, Minority Caucus Board Member
- Philadelphia Barristers Association
- Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association, Editorial Board Member, 2009 – Present; Diversity Committee Member; Future Leaders Committee Member
- The National Trial Lawyers Association: Top 40 under 40
- The Legal Intelligencer, Young Lawyer Editorial Board Member, 2011
Publications & Lectures - Keynote: "Mine Eyes Have Seen" Abington Memorial Hospital Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Program, 2011
- Keynote: “What Would Dr. King Say Today?” Salem Baptist Church’s Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Day Luncheon, 2011
- CLE: “Jury Selection & Sentiment in a Downturn Economy,” 2009
- CLE: “Civil Litigation 101: Preparing & Responding to Written Discovery & Subpoenas,” 2009
- Co-author: “Ethnic/Race Niche Drugs: Navigating Ethnicity and Race in Pharmaceuticals,” Update Magazine, Food and Drug Law Institute, 2006
- Co-author: “Postmarketing Requirements for Medical Devices,” Update Magazine, Food and Drug Law Institute, 2005
- Co-author: “FDA’s Independent Drug Safety Board: The Quest to Restore Confidence in FDA’s Stamp of Approval,” Pharmaceutical Litigation Reporter, 2005; Drug Recall Litigation Reporter, 2005
Awards and Designations - Pennsylvania Super Lawyer® Rising Star, Philadelphia Magazine, 2010 and 2011
- Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association, The Verdict, Editorial Board Member, 2009 – Present
Attorney News - Philadelphia Personal Injury Lawyer Royce W. Smith to Speak at Dispute Resolution Institute's Personal Injury Seminar on April 17
April 17, 2012 - Personal Injury Attorney Royce W. Smith of Feldman Shepherd Speaks at Dispute Resolution Institute's 14th Annual Personal Injury Potpourri
March 19, 2012 - Feldman Shepherd Attorney Royce Smith Re-elected American Association for Justice Delegate & Named Adjunct Professor at Drexel University
August 16, 2011 - 13 Feldman Shepherd Personal Injury Lawyers Named to 2011 Lists of PA Super Lawyers and Rising Stars
May 27, 2011 - Feldman Shepherd Attorney Royce Smith Named to Editorial Board of Legal Intelligencer Supplement
February 23, 2011 - Feldman Shepherd Attorney Royce Smith to Deliver Keynote Address at Abington Memorial Hospital Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Program
February 22, 2011 - Feldman Shepherd Attorney Royce Smith Delivers Martin Luther King Day Keynote at Salem Baptist Church
January 31, 2011 - Church Celebrates King Day (Philadelphia Tribune)
January 20, 2011 - Royce W. Smith Joins Personal Injury Law Firm Feldman Shepherd
September 20, 2010
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