John Smith

Our overarching philosophy at Smith & Stephens, PC is that we are here to serve people. In order to do this most effectively we spend time getting to know our clients, to "get inside their hides," to feel what it is like to be them – accused by the government of committing some crime. This stems from training at Gerry Spence's Trial Lawyer's College. At the College we learned psychodramatic techniques geared toward bringing our client's story into the courtroom. Only a handful of lawyers are admitted each year and are personally selected by Mr. Spence himself. The Trial Lawyer's College teaches us to take the time to really understand how it feels to be the person we are representing. In this way we are able to pull their story from our hearts, creating the probability the jury will feel it in their hearts as well.I have represented people from all walks of life. I was the lawyer for a Native American owned construction company that had contracted with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to build homes for Blackfeet tribal members in northern Montana. The company and 11 tribal members were charged in federal court with 15 counts involving conspiracy, fraud, bribery, money laundering and theft of government monies. After a lengthy trial and deliberation, the jury acquitted all defendants on eight counts. The remaining seven counts ended in a mistrial or by Rule 29 acquittals. The government ultimately dismissed the mistried counts.As a lawyer defending people accused of crimes, I consider myself and others who work in this arena to be law enforcement officers of the highest order, because we seek to enforce the Constitution and the peoples’ rights guaranteed by it.