Shannon Smith is a criminal defense attorney known for taking on some of the most high-profile and difficult legal issues in the country. She is known in particular for her skills in defending clients accused at trial of committing sex crimes, however, occasionally she will take other unique cases. You can read more about Shannon Smith in an article from Hour magazine if you click here.
How long has Shannon been practicing law and how did she get started?
Shannon chose to go to law school after going through a stressful lawsuit in college. Shannon lost control of her car on a wet highway and a friend who was in the car with Shannon suffered a broken nose. After she was sued, Shannon learned what lawyers did. As a result, she became fascinated and interested in pursuing her own legal career. Shannon can look back now and see the one of the most stressful events in her life is actually what pointed her on the path to her career.
Shannon graduated from the University of Michigan in 2001 and then graduated from Michigan State College of Law in 2005. She has been licensed since November of 2005 after passing the bar on her first try. Shannon opened her own practice shortly after she was licensed which is now known as Shannon Smith Law, PC.
Where does Shannon practice?
Shannon defends client accused throughout the state of Michigan mostly in state and federal cases. Shannon has also handled cases out of state by obtaining temporary permission from other state bars to practice on a case-by-cases basis. Therefore, Shannon has handled matters in other states, most recently in Louisiana and Ohio. Because Shannon is not a lawyer who only practices in one court, or one county, she is able to defend her client vigorously without worry that she'll upset a prosecutor or court that she will have to go back to.
How did Shannon end up as a criminal defense lawyer?
When Shannon started, she knew almost nothing about practicing law. She did not come from a family of lawyers or have any lawyers who were close to her. As a result, she considered going into family law first. However, after receiving a faxed letter where opposing counsel was complaining there was "pee left on the toilet seat" by her client, she had enough.
Instead, Shannon began taking court appointments for criminal defense matters to make some money while she decided what to do. Quickly, Shannon fell in love with criminal defense. She could see that the system was grossly overcharging many people, falsely accusing people, and that everyone needs a qualified attorney to fight vigorously for them. To get appointments in 2006 when Shannon really started, there used to be a bench attorneys could sit on each morning and when a Judge needed to appoint an attorney on a case, they would grab the attorney from the bench. Any day Shannon did not have a court hearing scheduled, she sat on the bench hoping for an appointment. If she didn't receive an appointment, she would sit in the courtrooms....and judge's would appoint her on the spot if an attorney was running late or failed to show up to court.
If she didn't get an appointment or have work that day, Shannon would just sit in the courthouse and stalk the well known lawyers to watch them try cases. Watching trials taught Shannon more than she could ever imagine. She soon found an incredible mentor, Gail Benson, who taught Shannon how to defend people accused of sex crimes.
Does Shannon do anything other than work?
Shannon has four children that take up most of her time when she is not working. She also has a massive bernadoodle named Henry, who is extremely possessive and protective of her. Shannon draws and paints and has an enormous amount of creativity. She is currently working on two books....one about her experiences as a lawyer that will speak especially to other women lawyers, and one about her experience defending Jennifer Crumbley. The Jennifer Crumbley book is particularly exciting, but more details on that later. Shannon also travels with her family often and travels out of state often to speak at conferences for other criminal defense lawyers.
What is Shannon known for?
For a long time, Shannon wanted to be "liked" and worried too much about what people thought. However, in order to vigorously defend people accused of heinous accusations, you can't always be "liked." Instead, Shannon dove in the deep end to do the best job she can for her clients, whether people like her or not. As a result, she's built an extraordinary career and life.
She is known for being very passionate and caring about her clients she represents. She is known for being her authentic self - even at the expense of being criticized in doing so. She is unapologetic about her work -- she knows she has saved the lives of many innocent people. Shannon can look back through the last 19 years of her career and see that the Universe and God have absolutely put her on this path. She believes in her heart and soul that she was meant to do things in this life: have a beautiful family with four children and be a criminal defense lawyer.