Jeff Smith

Jeff Smith assists companies across a wide range of industries - including manufacturing, healthcare, construction and agriculture - for resolution of their commercial, construction or employment disputes, as well as his advice and counsel on corporate, contractual and employment matters.

Mr. Smith has represented owners, architects, general contractors and sub-contractors in a number of construction disputes involving commercial properties, including convention centers, continuing care retirement communities, nuclear power plants, coal-fired power plants, and nursing homes. In addition, he has represented designers in disputes arising out of design-build highway construction projects.

Employers rely on Mr. Smith to defend them against discrimination claims based on sex, age, race, religion and disability; unfair competition claims, wrongful termination, wage/hour litigation and whistleblower litigation. He also provides proactive counseling on employment issues to management teams and human resources departments, and he has extensive experience drafting employment, severance, confidentiality and non-compete agreements for employers.

Mr. Smith's commercial litigation practice includes the representation of public and private companies in the trial and appellate courts, as well as in arbitrations. He has extensive experience representing clients in dealer termination cases in state and federal court, and he has successfully obtained injunctive relief for clients preventing manufacturers from terminating dealer agreements. (See, Nacco Materials Handling Group, Inc. v. Toyota Materials Handling USA, Inc., 366 F.Supp.2d 597 (W.D. Tenn. 2004.)

Additionally, he provides advice and counsel to schools from formation through operations.