Rachel Smith is a fierce advocate, adviser, and protector of what’s right. Rachel is deeply committed to helping you find clarity in difficult times, unravel complex situations, and achieve the best results possible.
What drives Rachel to enthusiastically fight for her clients? When Rachel was seven years old, her brother was killed by a drunk driver. Her family’s pain fuels Rachel’s commitment to helping her clients get the solutions they deserve. Rachel understands the stress and difficulty people face when confronted with the possibility of litigation, and she uses her legal experience to help clients find a clear path forward while achieving just results.
With nearly 30 years of legal experience, Rachel Smith fights for justice for citizens across Missouri. Comfortable in any courtroom, Rachel’s track record as an advocate and litigator demonstrates her ability to win cases with integrity.
Rachel’s experience as a prosecutor with both the Circuit Attorney’s and the Attorney General’s Office sharpened her analytical, investigative and litigation skills. Her experiences include leading complex, sensitive investigations, multiple trial and litigation teams, and successful policy designs and implementation. In such situations, Rachel provides clarity, perspective, and candor while helping her clients work for justice and fair results.
As a trial attorney, Rachel has handled a multitude of pretrial hearings, motions, and discovery matters including more than 70 trials. Her commitment to thorough investigations, extensive preparation and detailed analysis makes her a highly skilled, successful litigator. Rachel possesses a unique ability to wade through complex, often emotionally-charged situations and find the relevant information on which her clients can make the best decision for themselves.
Rachel Smith continues to teach courses across the country in multiple areas of the law including use of force, ethics, employment discrimination, legal communications, law enforcement community relations, and simple and complex investigations. She is an Adjunct Professor and Clinical Co-Director for Washington University School of Law – Prosecution Clinic. Rachel has served as an instructor for National Associations of Attorney General’s, the Missouri Police Chief’s Command College, Missouri Office of Prosecution Services and the Missouri Bar Association.
As an experienced advocate, Rachel was appointed by the Missouri Supreme Court to the Missouri Bar’s Criminal Code Re-Write Committee and the Missouri Criminal Justice Task force on Public Defender workload. Rachel has served on several additional statewide committees including Missouri Prosecutor’s Legislative and Capitol Litigation committees. Rachel chaired the Missouri Best Practices Subcommittee on Special Victims from 2013 to 2015. She served as Chair of the statewide Missouri Prosecutors Best Practices Subcommittee on Ethics from 2015 to 2017.
Rachel also consults with the Prosecutor’s Center for Excellence and the Vera Causa Group.
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Rachel's published articles:
ABA Criminal Justice Journal Spring 2019 Kristine Hamann with Rachel Smith, "Facial Recognition Technology, Where will it Take Us?" https://www.americanbar.org/groups/criminal_justice/publications/criminal-justice-magazine/2019/spring/facial-recognition-technology/
Examples of some of Rachel’s public advocacy:
“Women Behind Bars” Episode 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dNbTJqw9Oc
“Good Samaritan” Laws: https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/aldermanic-panel-approves-good-samaritan-law-effort-fight-overdose-deaths#stream
Some Interesting Trials or Investigations:
State v. Charaty White (Featured on Women Behind Bars)
State v. Parks (Featured on America's Most Wanted)
State v. John Smith (Capital Murder Case)
State v. Larry Griffin (Conviction Integrity Investigation, Review and Report)
State v. Danny Kittrell (Cold Case Review and Conviction)
Investigation into St. Louis History Museum (Investigation and Report)
State v. Nate Hendren (Officer Involved Shooting)
State v. Chad and Lori (Vallow) Daybell (Pending Idaho Cases)
Investigation into St. Louis City Justice Center