Prior to 2017, Paul Smith was in private practice at the firm of Jenner & Block LLP. He has had an active appellate practice for several decades, including oral arguments in nineteen Supreme Court cases involving matters ranging from free speech and civil rights to civil procedure. Among his important victories have been Lawrence v. Texas, the landmark gay rights case, and Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Ass’n, establishing the First Amendment rights of those who produce and sell video games. Paul also argued several voting rights cases in the Supreme Court: Crawford v. Marion County Election Board (2008), the Indiana voter ID case, and two Congressional redistricting cases, LULAC v. Perry (2006) and Vieth v. Jubelirer (2003). Chambers USA has repeatedly named Professor Smith one of the country’s leading lawyers in appellate litigation, media and entertainment law, and First Amendment litigation for multiple years. In 2010, The National Law Journal named him one of the “Decade’s Most Influential Lawyers.” Professor Smith was awarded the Thurgood Marshall Award from the American Bar Association Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice for his work promoting civil rights and civil liberties. He has also won awards from the American Constitutional Society, the DC Bar, the Legal Aid Society of DC, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, and the Human Rights Campaign. He is a member and former chair of the National Board of Directors of The American Constitution Society and former board member and co-chair of Lambda Legal.