Randall A. Smith is a veteran trial lawyer and the founder and managing partner of Smith & Fawer, LLC, a boutique litigation firm, which focuses on providing excellent trial counsel for both plaintiffs and defendants in complex cases. Mr. Smith’s litigation experience is broad, with a special emphasis on business and commercial litigation, takings/eminent domain litigation, and white collar criminal defense. Having obtained many successful judgments and successfully defended against many claims and prosecutions, Mr. Smith has earned his reputation as an assertive, creative, and focused trial counsel.

Mr. Smith was born in New York and raised in Geneva, Switzerland and Washington D.C. His father, Robert S. Smith, was a lifelong diplomat who served, among other posts, on the National Security Council and as the United States Ambassador to The Ivory Coast. His mother, Sally L. Smith, was a pioneer in the field of learning disabilities, who founded The Lab School of Washington, authored ten books in the field, and was a tenured professor at American University.

Mike Fawer is Bronx born but a longtime New Orleans criminal defense attorney. He is a graduate of Cornell University and Columbia Law School. His career has spanned a 60 year period, trying cases in New York, Washington, D.C., Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Nevada and of course Louisiana. He has probably tried more high profile criminal cases than any other Louisiana attorney: murder cases (Aaron Mintz, William Johnson, Curtis Kyles), political corruption cases (Edwin Edwards, Charles Roemer, Chief Judge Walter Nixon), blatant government misconduct (Douglas DiLosa, Curtis Kyles, David Mark), and unique cases including attempted murder by injection of the HIV virus (Dr. Richard Schmidt of Lafayette). He has argued over 25 cases at the appellate level, securing reversals of conviction in at least half and has argued before the Supreme Court of the United States.

Highlights of his career appear in his recently published book "From the Bronx to the Bayou" and in a 10 episode podcast styled "Combat in the Courtroom".

A native of Islington, Massachusetts, Geoffrey is a seasoned litigator, who practices mainly in the areas of complex commercial litigation, community property litigation, as well as succession litigation, environmental litigation, and maritime litigation. Geoffrey graduated cum laude from the University of Massachusetts/Amherst in 1988, having spent a full year at the University of Queensland, Australia. After graduating from university, Geoffrey worked for the Honorable Elihu Harris, former mayor of Oakland, California. Geoffrey also worked with the advertising firm of Foote, Cone & Belding in San Francisco, California. He attended Tulane University Law School, where he graduated cum laude with a Certificate in Environmental Law and was the recipient of the Cullen R. Liskow Award for excellence in Oil & Gas Law. Geoffrey practiced in New Orleans for three years and then moved his practice to Washington, D.C. before returning to his adopted home of New Orleans to re-establish his practice as a maritime and oil and gas litigator. Geoffrey joined Smith & Fawer in August 2006, where he has successfully represented closely-held and larger companies, individuals, insurance companies and maritime related entities in a variety of litigation matters. He has first chaired multiple bench and jury trials in both federal and state courts, as well as in arbitration, obtaining several multi-million-dollar judgments for Smith & Fawer clients. In his spare time, Geoffrey enjoys playing and coaching rugby.

Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, Stephen Gelé is committed to the culture and institutions of Southeast Louisiana. He grew up in the Gelé family's generational hunting and fishing store, earned a degree in Political Science from Loyola University, and then a law degree at Loyola School of Law.

He enjoys both the policy and procedure of the law. He has litigated a great variety of disputes in multiple forums throughout his almost thirty years of practicing law, including such diverse issues as internal business disputes, injuries to person and property, construction defect, campaign challenges and intellectual property. He has also consulted with multiple clients regarding legislation, public policy, campaigns, and public interest organizations.

A senior attorney at Smith & Fawer, LLC, Tiffany Hawkins focuses her practice on takings and eminent domain law, commercial litigation, civil litigation, and property litigation. As a New Orleans lawyer at Smith & Fawer for more than twenty years, Tiffany represents clients throughout Louisiana. Tiffany is rated by Martindale-Hubbell® as AV Preeminent, which is the highest rating that an attorney can receive for professional ability and adherence to ethical standards. Tiffany is a member of the Louisiana Law Review and a recipient of the Louisiana State University Law Center Hall of Fame Award. She is a member of the New Orleans, Fifth Circuit, Louisiana State, Federal, and American Bar Associations. Tiffany also served on the Mississippi Athletic Commission, which regulates boxing and wrestling, and has experience in the development and restoration of residential, commercial, and agricultural property.

McDonald has an active trial and appellate practice both in federal and state courts and has managed several cases for trial both as primary and secondary counsel. He has taken and defended numerous depositions of fact and expert witnesses. He defends claims asserted against public entities, businesses, and their insurers, including claims based on alleged civil rights violations and employment practices, as well as personal injury and property damage claims arising out of automobile, business premises, construction, environmental, and industrial accidents.

Dylan T. Leach joined Smith & Fawer, LLC in 2014. Prior to joining Smith & Fawer, LLC, Dylan attended Tulane University Law School, where he worked as a student attorney for the Tulane Civil Litigation Clinic and from which he graduated cum laude in 2014. Prior to entering the legal field, Dylan worked in the maritime field on educational and commercial vessels.

Dylan’s primary practice areas include business litigation, professional liability litigation, and construction defect litigation. He also has experience in catastrophic injury litigation, complex insurance litigation, intellectual property litigation, and maritime litigation.

Dylan is licensed to practice law throughout the State of Louisiana, the United States District Courts for the Eastern, Western, and Middle Districts of Louisiana, and the United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

Reagan Reynolds Wilty is an associate attorney with Smith & Fawer, LLC. She has recently rejoined the firm in 2022 but originally began her law career with Smith & Fawer in 2013. Her practice primarily focuses on complex commercial litigation, partnership dispute litigation, and general civil litigation. She also has experience in civil rights litigation, succession litigation, criminal law, corporate transactions and formations, insurance coverage and defense litigation, plaintiff personal injury, labor and employment litigation, eminent domain, securities litigation and arbitration, and community property litigation. Reagan has experience litigating in federal and state courts, AAA, private arbitration and FINRA arbitration. She also has broad appellate experience.

Reagan is originally from Coleman, Texas, a small rural town in west Texas, where she still has strong family ties today. She currently resides in Algiers Point with her husband and their two girls. In her spare time, Reagan enjoys creating papier maché artwork for friends and family.

Lynnette F. Judge has been with Smith & Fawer since the firm’s inception in 1995. A native New Orleanian, Lynnette has strong ties to the City and its culture. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Loyola University, magna cum laude, with a double major in political science and psychology. In 1987, Lynnette graduated from Loyola Law School in the top 6% of her class where she served on the Loyola Law Review, and cultivated a scholarly interest in the Louisiana civilian legal tradition, as well as constitutional law and appellate litigation. After law school, she joined the appellate section of Barham and Churchill, and benefitted from the mentoring of the late Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Mack Barham in preparing appeals and writs. Following the dissolution of that firm, Lynnette then moved to McGlinchey Stafford, gaining experience in antitrust, RICO, and commercial litigation.

Sarah A. Lowman received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Newcomb College of Tulane University in 1984 and her Juris Doctorate from Tulane Law School in 1987, where she received the American Jurisprudence Award in Advanced Louisiana Oil & Gas. Ms. Lowman has broad experience representing defendants and plaintiffs in general civil litigation, with a concentration in complex, multi-party litigation, construction and commercial litigation. Her experience includes takings/inverse condemnation law, public bid and procurement law, ERISA, insurance defense and coverage issues. She has extensive appellate experience.

Prior to joining Smith & Fawer, Ms. Lowman was primarily responsible for handling cases of numerous businesses and home owners against the Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans for damages arising from the SELA drainage canal projects in Uptown New Orleans, involving inverse condemnation. She continues in this role with our firm.

Philip is a trial attorney, who started his legal career in New Orleans and then relocated to Los Angeles, California. In California, Philip focused on general business litigation, as well as tort litigation. Because of his musical background, he was drawn to the entertainment field, in which he has litigated copyright and trademark issues on behalf of artists and writers. For the past decade, Phil has also devoted considerable time representing Plaintiffs in Civil Rights’ suits. These cases, many of which have been filed in Louisiana, involve such claims as false arrest/excessive force (under the Fourth Amendment), free speech retaliation claims (under the First Amendment), cruel and unusual punishment claims (under the Eighth Amendment), as well as Equal Protection claims against the government.

Andre M. Stolier is a recent graduate of the Loyola College of Law, where he served as a managing editor of the Loyola Law Review, research assistant to Professor Nikolaos A. Davrados, a member of the Advocacy Center, and an extern for the Honorable Ivan J. Lemelle of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Andre’s Comment, Finding the Fault Lines: An Epistemological Inquiry of the True Meaning of Civil Law “Fault,” was selected as the top comment for his year and recently published in the Loyola Law Review.

Prior to joining Smith & Fawer and attending law school, Andre worked in government relations with a focus on healthcare policy, regulatory and legislative affairs, and general political consulting. He served as Political Director and Field Director to Governor John Bel Edwards’ first successful gubernatorial campaign, worked as an associate lobbyist for the Baton Rouge firm Southern Strategy Group, and managed government relations for Access Health Louisiana.

Michelle, a life-long resident of the New Orleans Area, joined Smith & Fawer in 2002 as a legal assistant, and she has since earned the additional titles of Human Resources Director and Paralegal.

Prior to joining the Firm, Michelle worked in different practice areas, including insurance defense, medical malpractice, estate planning, and domestic relations.

Sonya Roberts joined Smith & Fawer, LLC as a Paralegal in 2020. She has over 25 years in experience in various practice areas including Personal Injury, Workers Compensation, Maritime, Bankruptcy, Construction Defect, Product Liability, Toxic Tort and Notarial Law.

Sonya was born in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, but moved to Louisiana as a young child and has been home ever since. She received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Social Sciences from Loyola University in 2009 and commissioned as a Louisiana Notary in 2014.

Caroline Hera joined Smith & Fawer, LLC, as a junior paralegal in 2021. Prior to joining Smith & Fawer, Caroline Hera attended Loyola University and received a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a minor in Criminal Justice in 2021.

At Smith & Fawer, Caroline’s primary focus is assisting the firm's team of attorneys in investigation related to litigation.