Smita Gautam
- vCard
- vcard
Smita Gautam focuses her practice on complex civil litigation, including insurance coverage, class action defense, and commercial disputes.
Smita is a member of the Tucker Ellis team defending an automobile insurance carrier in putative class actions in state and federal courts across the country. She also is on a Tucker Ellis team serving as national counsel for a vertical transportation system manufacturer and servicer, where she focuses on defending cases in Georgia.
Smita enjoys working directly with clients to develop case strategy. She is experienced in managing litigation in both state and federal court through preparing and responding to pleadings, conducting discovery, preparing and arguing dispositive motions, and successfully negotiating resolution at mediation.
Smita practiced law in Atlanta for four years before returning home to Northeast Ohio. While in law school, she was a legal extern for the Federal Trade Commission, assisting with agency investigations in the Southeast Region. She also externed at a small firm in the metro Atlanta area, focusing on business, employment, and personal injury litigation.
In her free time, Smita enjoys trying new recipes, cheering on the Buckeyes and the Browns, and exploring downtown Cleveland.
- Education
- Emory University School of Law (J.D., 2015); Emory Bankruptcy Developments Journal, Executive Symposium Editor; Legal Association for Women Students, Social Chair
- The Ohio State University (B.S.B.A. in Marketing and B.A. in History, 2012); Dean's List; John B. Gerlach Medalist Scholarship
- State Admissions
- Georgia, 2015
- Ohio, 2020
- Federal Admissions
- United States District Court, Middle District of Georgia
- United States District Court, Northern District of Georgia
- United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio
- Service Areas
- Business Litigation
- Insurance
- Class Action Litigation
- “INSIGHT: Coronavirus Raises Novel Business Insurance Issues,” Bloomberg Law (March 2020)
- Comment, #bankruptcy: Reconsidering “Property” to Determine the Role of Social Media in the Bankruptcy Estate, 30 EMORY BANKR. DEV. J. 127 (2014) (cited in In re CTLI, LLC, 528 B.R. 359 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. 2015))
- Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America (2021–2025)
- Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association
- State Bar of Georgia
- Young Lawyers Division, Litigation Committee, Insurance Law Section
- Georgia Association for Women Lawyers