Reynolds Frizzell LLP

Commercial Litigation

Partner

Nathan Smith translates his clients’ stories into effective arguments for why the law entitles them to prevail. His strategic thinking and powerful written and oral advocacy have allowed him to build an impressive record of resolving disputes efficiently and to his clients’ advantage, often before trial.

Nathan’s experience and skill set are broad. He has represented plaintiffs and defendants in federal, state, and arbitration proceedings, with clients from diverse fields such as energy, healthcare, and private equity. He has devoted much of his career to sophisticated contract, fiduciary duty, and fraudulent transfer cases involving billion- or multi-hundred million dollar claims. Other cases have involved stakes that were smaller in dollar amounts, but which nonetheless were pivotal to the financial future of an individual or an emerging company.

Nathan’s cases frequently have required him to analyze and interpret crucial contracts, including merger and acquisition instruments, long-term indemnity agreements, intellectual property licenses, and contracts concerning oil and gas exploration, production, gathering, processing, transportation, and storage. He achieves results for clients by focusing not just on particular provisions that are in dispute, but also on what the entire contract indicates about the intent of the parties.

Nathan is committed to community involvement and leadership. His pro bono practice in recent years has focused on criminal justice issues, including prison condition litigation as well as work on initiatives to help Houston-area residents take advantage of Texas statutory reforms related to sealing and expunging criminal records. He is an Eagle Scout, and as an adult leader in the Boy Scouts of America he has served as a troop committee chair, a summer camp leader, and a counselor for the Citizenship in the Community, Nation, and World merit badges. He volunteers with Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston’s Afghan refugee assistance program and with the Dads on Duty program at HISD West Briar Middle School, and he serves on the Shared Decision Making Committee for HISD Westside High School. In addition, he serves as a lay leader for his church in West Houston, where his responsibilities have included coordinating and equipping volunteer teams in response to natural disasters in Texas and Louisiana, implementing classes on financial literacy and educational and career opportunities, and delivering public remarks in English and Spanish.

As a young adult, Nathan lived in Germany for two years. As a lawyer, he has leveraged his German language skills to represent German clients and handle cases that involved German witnesses and German-language documents.

Nathan served as a law clerk for Judge David C. Godbey of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas and for Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod of the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. He is proud of the American justice system and committed to its continued improvement, and he considers it an honor to advise and advocate for his clients.

English, German

Texas Bar Foundation, Sustaining Life Fellow Greater Houston Partnership, Education Committee Member J. Reuben Clark Law Society, Houston Chapter, Chapter Chair (previously Vice Chair) German American Chamber of Commerce, Firm Liaison National Eagle Scout Association, Life Member Sam Houston Area Council Boy Scout Troop 47, Troop Committee Chair Houston Bar Association, including Litigation and Appellate Sections Federalist Society

University of Chicago Law School J.D., with Honors, 2004 Robert S. Fiffer Scholar; Hinton Cup Winner (First Place, moot court competition), 2002-2003; Co-Chair, Moot Court Board, 2003-2004 Brigham Young University B.A., German, summa cum laude, 2001 University Honors; Trustees Scholar; Karl G. Maeser and Edwin S. Hinckley Scholar; Humanities Convocation Speaker; Phi Kappa Phi