THE SMITH LAW CENTER - Key Persons
David Holt was born and raised in Newport News, Virginia. He earned his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of Mary Washington and received is Juris Doctor degree from Regent University School of Law in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
In October 2003, Holt was admitted to the Virginia Bar and began to work for then-state Senator Ken Stolle of the 8th Senatorial District in Virginia Beach. While he was working as the Senator's aide for portions of the 2004 General Assembly Session, he discovered his passion for and gained valuable experience in civil and criminal law.
Before he entered law school, Holt served as a police officer in Hampton, working closely with the Training Division where he developed protocols and training materials for police recruits. Holt then after law school begin his trial career in Hampton as a state prosecutor, litigating hundreds of jury trials and was involved in multiple complex murder and gang-related cases. Holt has experience in lecturing to other prosecutors and law enforcement agencies around the state concerning the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendments.
Holt is a graduate of the esteemed Career Prosecutor School in Charleston, S.C. There, he taught, collaborated, learned and practiced all areas of trial and courtroom advocacy. Holt also served as an instructor at the National District Attorneys Association, and taught trial practice skills at the National Advocacy Center in Columbia, S.C. Holt is admitted to the Virginia State Bar, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, U.S. District Court, Western District of Virginia, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
In his free time, Holt is an avid CrossFitter, and plays squash and soccer. He also serves as a managing partner for Shooting Space Lacrosse as well as sits on the Board of Trustees at the Virginia Air and Space Center in Hampton. Over the past 15 years, he has been a member of the board of directors for the Over Thirty Soccer League. Holt lives in Norfolk, Virginia with his wife, Heather, three boys and two dogs.
Job Titles:
- Managing Partner
- Member of the American Bar Association
Howard Smith, managing partner at Smith Law Center, has over 48 years of legal experience. He earned his B.A. from the University of Richmond and his J.D. from the College of William & Mary.
Included in the 2017 edition of The Best Lawyers in America, Howard is a member of the American Bar Association, Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Hampton County Bar Association, Newport News Bar Association, Virginia State Bar and a senior member of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association.
Licensed in the state of Virginia, Howard is often in court representing his clients. He focuses on cases involving wrongful death, medical malpractice, auto accidents, trucking crashes and brain injuries.
Along with brother Stephen, Howard has regularly and consistently obtained numerous multimillion dollar settlements and verdicts nationwide for catastrophic and traumatic brain injury survivors. He has proudly represented thousands of survivors and their families.
The Smith Law Center is currently the largest personal injury firm on the peninsula, and one of the largest in Virginia. Newport News native Joseph Smith founded the firm in 1949 with the express purpose of providing quality legal representation to the victims of the negligence of others.
A native of Hampton Roads, Samantha attended Old Dominion University located in Norfolk, Virginia receiving her Bachelor of Arts in History as a graduate with distinction. She then attended the Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida obtaining her Juris Doctor with a focus on litigation. She is licensed in Virginia and is admitted to practice in all courts in the Commonwealth and some Federal jurisdictions.
During her law school tenure, she was a gold level member of the Pro Bono Honors Society as well as the Director of the Inter-American Center for Human Rights. She has been licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth since 2015. She is certified to represent clients throughout the state of Virginia at all judicial levels as well as the United States District Court Eastern District of Virginia and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. During her years in practice Mrs. Cohn has conducted over one thousand trials giving her the opportunity to polish her skills and hone expertise in an effort to maximize her clients' recovery.
"We are extremely excited to begin working with Samantha. Not only is Samantha an excellent attorney with a wealth of real-life experience, she complements our practice by allowing us to offer expanded services to our clients all over the country," said Stephen M. Smith, principal.
Samantha lives in Richmond, Virginia, and enables the firm to continue to provide a host of legal services in central and western Virginia, in addition to the Tidewater area. When not in the courtroom, Samantha spends time with her husband chasing after her three boys. She also enjoys travel, golf, and yoga when she can find the time.
EDUCATION
Old Dominion University • Graduate with distinction (BA in History)
Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law Center • Juris Doctor, focus on litigation
MEMBERSHIPS
Pro Bono Honors Society
Inter-American Center for Human Rights (Past Director)
Congratulations to our founder of the Brain Injury Law Center and the managing partner of the 71-year-old Smith Law Center for your induction into the Hall of Fame. Thank you for pioneering the art of moving the "invisible injury" and mastering demonstrative evidence.
Mr. Gill began his professional career as a law clerk for the judges of the Circuit Court of Virginia Beach. In 1999, he joined the Virginia Beach Commonwealth's Attorney's Office where he gained invaluable trial experience handling all types of felony and misdemeanor cases, including D.U.I. and traffic, burglary, robbery, firearms offenses, sexual assault and murder cases.
In 2004, Gill left the prosecutor's office to begin his personal injury trial practice. Since then, he has represented hundreds of injury victims in state and federal courts all over Virginia.
Mr. Gill takes special pride in the many catastrophic injury cases he has handled over the years, including wrongful death, spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries because he believes these are the victims who need help the most. He has also represented many families against nursing homes and other care facilities in cases involving elderly neglect and abuse.
In addition to his trial duties, Mr. Gill is Chairman of Smith Law Center's Worker's Compensation Division and will assist in the Sports Concussion Division. He represents injury victims before the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission.
Gill has helped his clients win millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts, including numerous cases against large corporations.
"We are extremely excited to begin working with Stewart. Not only is Stewart an excellent attorney with a wealth of real-life brain injury and other catastrophic injury litigation experience, he will complement our growing practice by allowing us to offer even more expanded services to our clients all over the country," said Stephen M. Smith, founder of the Brain Injury Law Center.
Outside of the firm, Stewart loves spending time with his wife, Allison, and their daughter. Stewart is an avid outdoor enthusiast and loves spending time at the beach with his family.
Education
Mary Washington College • 1995 summa cum laude Graduate (BA in Political Science)
The Dickinson School of Law of The Pennsylvania State University • 1998 Juris Doctor, cum laude
Affiliations
National Trial Lawyers Association
Virginia Trial Lawyers Association
Long Term Care section of VTLA, Board Member
Brain Injury Litigation Group of AAJ