Page 41 - Briefcase Volume 36 Number 2

UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON LAW ALUMNI ASSOCIATION AWARDS

DEAN'S

AWARD

WINNER

Richard Craig Smith ’00
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP

For outstanding loyalty and dedication to the University of Houston Law Center
Richard Smith is a partner at the global litigation law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP. His practice
focuses on, among other things, complex litigation, white collar criminal defense, and the creation, assessment
and implementation of U.S.-centric and transnational anticorruption policies, procedures and corporate internal
investigations. Smith is a fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America; Thomas Reuters recognized him as a Super
Lawyer in the white-collar criminal defense bar in Washington, D.C., from 2013–2017; and he was named one of
the Top 100 Black Lawyers by the National Black Lawyers organization, from 2015–2017.
Smith was previously the principal deputy chief for litigation of the fraud section of the U.S. Department of
Justice, Criminal Division, and has more than 25 years of trial experience. He has also handled more than 100
criminal and civil cases in state and federal courts throughout the U.S. since earning a J.D. from the University of
Florida and his LL.M. from the University of Houston Law Center.
Smith has served on the board of numerous institutions, including Exactech, Inc., where he chairs the nominating
and governance committee and sits on the audit committee; the board of trustees at the University of Florida Law
Center Association, Inc.; and the advisory board at the University of Houston Law Center, Health Law & Policy
Institute.
“By obtaining an LL.M. from the Law Center in Health Law, it opened unbelievable doors for my career,” Smith
said. “I can do things today that I otherwise wouldn’t be doing as a lawyer. You can take your LL.M. and do almost
anything. If you want to see the world, get an LL.M.”

2018 BRIEFCASE 41