Walter Smith

Walter Smith is the Executive Director of DC Appleseed. Prior to joining DC Appleseed in 2001, Smith served two years as a Special Deputy Corporation Counsel at the D.C. Office of the Corporation Counsel, now the Office of the Attorney General. There he focused on addressing the many receiverships in the District, supervising litigation affecting the school system, setting up pro bono assistance for the District from private law firms, and bringing a suit before a three-judge federal court seeking voting representation for the District in Congress. Smith practiced for 16 years at the law firm of Hogan & Hartson (now Hogan Lovells), where he specialized in appellate litigation. For several years, he served as a partner and full-time director of the firm’s pro bono practice. He also served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy JAG Corps. Smith has argued numerous cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and the D.C. Court of Appeals. Smith has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Oklahoma and a law degree from Harvard Law School. He served as a law clerk to Judge Charles Clark on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.