Snadowsky, Daria A.

Rustin L. Smith is a Gainesville native who joined the firm as an associate attorney in 2010.  His practice consists of both litigation and transactional matters, with a focus on real estate litigation, contract disputes, personal injury, and bankruptcy claims.  

He graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Georgia in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice.  At UGA, he received the distinction of Presidential Scholar and made the Dean’s List on several occasions.  Both during and after college, he was employed by the Hall County District Attorney’s Office where he was introduced to the demands of the legal field and the challenges of the courtroom. 

In 2007, Mr. Smith left the District Attorney’s Office to pursue a law degree, which he received from Emory University School of Law.  At Emory, he made the Dean’s List, received the Dean’s Award for acheiving the highest grade in his Venture Capital course, competed in Emory’s Goizueta Business School 2009 Real Estate Competition, and was recommended for a scholarship for his performance in the Kessler-Eidson Trial Techniques program. 
    
During law school, Mr. Smith completed a summer internship with the United States Department of Agriculture, Office of the General Counsel, where he resolved matters involving rural housing loans, title defects, probate disputes, creditor collections, and land management.  That same summer, he was also employed by his law professor to conduct legal research for a casebook on wills, trusts, and estates.  In his last year of law school, he assisted nonprofit groups in challenging government regulatory actions and environmental protection law violations through his work at the Ted Turner Environmental Law Clinic.