Douglas L. Smith

Douglas Smith is a Shareholder whose practice focuses on the areas of Civil Litigation, Commercial Law, Real Property, Banking, Eminent Domain, and Creditor Bankruptcy Law. Doug is an AV rated attorney and has significant litigation experience in both the State and Federal Court systems. Additionally, Doug has been a Certified Circuit Civil Mediator since 1998.

In 1983, Doug attended Duke University where he received a BA in Economics, cum laude. He then served in the United States Peace Corps from 1984-1986 specializing in economic development in The Federated States of Micronesia. Upon returning to the United States, he attended law school at The College of William & Mary where he received both the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award and the Phoenix Award for service to the College.

For more than 20 years, Doug has practiced law in the northwest Florida area. His general civil litigation practice has resulted in numerous money judgments obtained for clients, including one for in excess of $3,000,000. His philosophy regarding civil litigation is that it takes a team effort between the client and the client’s law firm to achieve the best results, and therefore, clients play an active role in all of the cases he handles. Doug has also been active in eminent domain cases throughout Northwest Florida.

In recent years, Doug has also focused attention on the representation of condominium and homeowner associations and has presented seminars on such topics. Doug has specialized in defending associations’ rights when they are made junior defendants in mortgage foreclosure lawsuits, as well as representing associations in lien collections actions against nonpaying owner members of the associations. With the ever increasing number of condominiums and homeowner association controlled communities in Florida, association representation is an expanding area of law where the law is continuing to evolve.

Doug is a member of the Duke University Alumni Interview Committee. He has also graded The Florida Bar Exam and has written an examination question used by the Florida Board of Bar Examiners.

A civic leader at heart, Doug is a past-president, current Board member, and founding member of Habitat for Humanity of Bay County, Florida, Inc., and a member and former Board Member of NCSC Federal Credit Union, now known as Innovations Federal Credit Union. In addition to other community organizations, he was a member of the Leadership Bay Class of 1997, Race Director of the Race Judicata 1991-1997, and is currently a program chair of Panama City Kiwanis Club and member of Panhandle Runners & Triathletes Club. Doug also enjoys coaching youth soccer and is Chancellor for Holy Nativity Episcopal School.

In 2017, Doug was chairman of the Bay County Chamber of Commerce’s Federal Courthouse Committee, which was instrumental in saving the permanent location of the federal courthouse in Panama City. For this work in 2018 Doug was honored with the Chamber of Commerce’s Member of the Year award.