Meet David
G. David Smith is a founder of Smith & Lee Injury Lawyers and is currently Of Counsel to the firm. Smith, a Board Certified specialist in Personal Injury Trial Law since 1990, was elected by the lawyers of Texas to be the 2026–2027 President of the State Bar of Texas.
David grew up in West Texas and graduated from Muleshoe High School. A speech and debate scholarship took him to Odessa College, where he earned national recognition as a collegiate debater. He later graduated with honors from the University of Texas at the Permian Basin and earned his law degree from Texas Tech University School of Law in 1983.
David began practicing law in West Texas before opening his own firm in 1984. He became Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in 1990 and later moved his practice to Rockwall.
Over more than four decades, David has tried cases before judges and juries throughout Texas involving serious personal injury, wrongful death, trucking collisions, defective products, premises defects, explosions, oilfield accidents, and other catastrophic events. He also maintains an active mediation practice, drawing on decades of trial experience to help resolve complex disputes.
David founded the practice that became Smith & Lee Injury Lawyers and spent years building its reputation in Rockwall and across Texas. In August 2025, he transitioned to an Of Counsel role. David remains closely involved with the firm, assisting on complex and serious injury cases while devoting more of his time to serving the legal profession.
From 2021 through 2024, David represented District 1 on the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors. He was elected State Bar president-elect in 2025 and sworn in as the 146th President of the State Bar of Texas in June 2026.
David has been selected to the Texas Super Lawyers list in 2009, 2010, 2011, and every year from 2016 through 2026. He is also a Sustaining Life Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation, a member of the Texas Bar College, and a past president of the Rockwall County Bar Association.
David and his wife, Diane, live in Rockwall and have four grown children and four grandchildren. He credits much of his approach to life and law to the lessons he learned growing up in West Texas: work hard, take care of people, and never be afraid to figure out a difficult problem.