Smith, Dennise R.
Ms. Smith’s primary area of practice is workplace safety issues (MSHA and OSHA).
Representative Experience
- Assists in representation of employers on OSHA and MSHA matters, and before state safety agencies regarding interpretations of regulatory requirements, significant citations and orders, accident investigations, special investigations, and employment discrimination issues related to safety
- Experienced in all phases of litigation, including conducting and defending depositions of parties, expert witnesses and witnesses, trial court oral arguments, mediations and settlement conferences
- Other areas of experience include employment law, wage and hour, class actions and mass torts
- Experience in managing document issues and e-discovery in mass torts/complex litigation
- Former Administrative Law Judge for West Virginia Unemployment Compensation Appeals Board
- Served as staff counsel for the West Virginia House of Delegates’ Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on Constitutional Revisions, including drafting, analyzing and preparing legislation for consideration by the Committees
- Experience in preparing and arguing cases before the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals
Education
- West Virginia University, B.A., magna cum laude, 1991
- West Virginia University College of Law, J.D., 1996
Admissions
- West Virginia State Bar
- State Bar of California
- West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals
- United States District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of West Virginia
Publications
- Co-author, "Section 110(c) Liability Under the Mine Act: A Fresh Look at Theories of Liability, Defenses and Representation Issues," 27 Energy & Min. L. Inst. ch. 9 (2007)