Colleen Smith

Colleen is widely recognized as one of the leading young attorneys in the nation (Young Lawyer of the Year (finalist), The American Lawyer (2023); Top 40 Young Lawyers, ABA (2023); Lawyers on the Fast Track (winner), The Recorder (2023); Ones to Watch, Best Lawyers (2022 – present)). Colleen’s breadth of experience sets her apart from her peers. She has experience representing clients on both sides of the “v” across multiple industries, from financial services, to life sciences, to media and communications. Colleen is also deeply dedicated to helping all of her clients reach successful outcomes, in whatever form that takes. She has helped her clients achieve those successes at all stages of litigation, from pre-suit settlements, through Supreme Court appeals.

Colleen is known as an exceptional legal writer with the ability to draft a persuasive brief that simplifies and synthesizes complex law on even the tightest of deadlines. She is the “go to” associate to execute emergency motions, petition for certiorari, and eleventh-hour appeals. Her colleagues describe her as a “rockstar” that “runs circles arounds opposing counsel.”

Colleen maintains an active pro bono practice with a focus on high-impact civil rights litigation in her home state of Idaho. She serves on the ACLU of Idaho Legal Panel and regularly litigates cases impacting reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and First Amendment rights. Earlier this year, Colleen obtained a high-profile preliminary injunction blocking the Idaho Attorney General’s first-of-it-kind legal opinion stating that health care professionals violate Idaho’s total abortion ban when they assist their patients in accessing out-of-state abortion care. Before that, she teamed up with Lambda Legal to successfully block the implementation of an Idaho law that would have barred transgender individuals from changing the gender marker on their birth certificates. Colleen always stays closely attuned to the legal issues impacting the most marginalized members her community. Through her work, she has become a known community leader who offers her legal assistance on Idaho’s most critical and controversial issues as soon as the potential need arises.

Prior to entering private practice, Colleen clerked for three federal judges: Judge Liam O’Grady of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Judge N. Randy Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and Chief Judge David Nye of the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho.

Colleen graduated first in her class from William & Mary School of Law, where she was an editor of the William & Mary Law Review, served as Vice President of the Student Bar Association, and was a member of the Appellate & Supreme Court Clinic founded and taught by Tillman Breckenridge. Colleen received her undergraduate degree in mathematics from The College of Idaho, where she served as Student Body President and earned All-American honors as a two-sport athlete.