Smith, Matt S.

Gerald has more than 17 years experience after getting his law degree in 1989.  He attended law school in a "mid-life career change" following several years of providing counseling, therapy, and other services primarily to children and their families.  In December of 2005, Gerald opened a sole practitioner office, allowing him to practice the kinds of law he loves.  He is dedicated to providing the best representation for those who need it most and too often get it least.
 
He attended the University of Minnesota Law School, one of the highest rated and most respected law schools in the nation.  He was a member of the Law Review and an editor of the Review in his final year of Law School.  Gerald graduated magna cum laude and was selected for membership in the Order of the Coif, an honorary organization whose members are chosen from the top 10% of the graduates from top ranked law schools.
 
From 1989 to 1991, Gerald was staff attorney for the Hon. Gerald Heaney and the Hon. George Fagg, Circuit Judges for the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.  As staff attorney, he provided research, drafted opinions, and provided other assistance to the Judges.  He and two other attorneys were a committee who re-wrote the Eighth Circuit Local Rules which were adopted by the Court.  In addition, he assisted Judge Heaney in writing an in-depth analysis of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which were new at the time.
 
Gerald then served as law clerk for the Hon. William Fremming Nielsen, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Washington, from 1991 to 1993.  He was one of the first two law clerks to serve Judge Nielsen after his appointment to the bench.

Following his clerkship with Judge Nielsen, Gerald was a trial attorney for the Federal Defenders of Eastern Washington and Idaho for over 12 years.  His experience ranged from petty misdemeanors to the most serious of felonies.  He was the defense attorney in trials involving charges of murder, distribution of drugs, illegal possession or use of firearms, assault, sexual assault, fraud, and other offenses.  His practice in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals was also wide-ranging while he was at Federal Defenders.
 
Gerald's writing and other pursuits are also extensive.  In law school, his article on personal injury and media law was published in the University of Minnesota Law Review and reprinted in the Personal Injury Law Review.  While clerking for Judge Nielsen, he wrote an article on defamation and the First Amendment which was published by the Valparaiso Law Review.  For several years he was the primary editor of My Little Red Rules Book, a pocket-sized annotated version of the Federal Rules of Evidence published by the Federal Defenders.  He also was co-editor of Guideline Grapevine, a monthly publication summarizing appellate decisions concerning the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.  He wrote the sentencing chapters for several books on defending a criminal case and has been on the planning committee and faculty for national seminars focusing on federal sentencing.
 
Gerald lives in Spokane with his wife of over 34 years, his dog, and his cat.