Cloyd Allen Smith

Cloyd Allen Smith joined the firm in March 2021. Prior to that, Cloyd worked at a civil litigation law firm in Arlington, Virginia. His practice was focused on complex commercial and business litigation as well as landlord-tenant issues and collections. Since joining the law firm, Cloyd in his first year won a case of first impression in the Virginia Supreme Court successfully arguing that a trust is not a contract that can be forced against a beneficiary under the Federal Arbitration Act or the Virginia Uniform Arbitration Act. Anderson v. Boyle, 301 Va. 52, 871 S.E.2d 226 (2022).

Cloyd began his legal career serving as a Judicial Law Clerk for the Honorable Richard E. Gardiner of the Fairfax County Circuit Court. During his clerkship, Cloyd gained valuable experience researching Virginia statutes and case law for complex civil litigation cases. He drafted and edited opinions, prepared dockets, and briefed motions for numerous circuit court judges.

While earning his Juris Doctorate, Cloyd served as the President of Public Interest Law. Knowing he wanted to be a trial lawyer, he participated in both the Moot Court and the National Mock Trial Team, focusing his legal education and experiences in criminal law. Cloyd interned at the United States Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., the Public Defender’s Office in Alexandria, Virginia, and the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office in Arlington, Virginia. Using his third-year practice certificate during his last year of law school, Cloyd focused on criminal cases to gain trial experience. He successfully prosecuted seven bench trials in Arlington General District Court, second chaired a felony malicious wounding case in Arlington Circuit Court and earned an acquittal for a wrongfully arrested defendant in a felony jury trial in Alexandria Circuit Court.

Cloyd is a retired Army infantry officer, having served over twenty-three years leading soldiers in the United States, Germany, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Egypt, Iraq, Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, and Cameroon. He lives in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and has four children; Sara, Caitlyn, Chloe, Liam, and two grandsons; James and Landon.