Keith E. Smith

Keith Smith is a skilled trial lawyer known for his expertise in handling a wide variety of complex matters for both public entities and private clients. His practice areas spans complex commercial litigation including issues involving construction, securities/FINRA, employment, directors and officers, catastrophic injury and professional liability matters. He also handles numerous matters involving sureties, including payment and performance bond claims, mechanic’s lien release bonds, litigation bonds, surety takeovers and defaults on construction projects.

Keith is regularly retained by public entities and private clients for his litigation prowess handling high exposure catastrophic injury matters. These include traumatic brain injury, wrongful death, amputations and disfigurement claims. Keith acts as National Coordinating Counsel for a major motion picture studio for all injury claims nationwide, is regularly retained as monitoring counsel by clients and insurers to oversee and then take to trial large exposure claims. Under this umbrella are all facets of injury matters for motor carriers, public entities and private companies in growing out of transportation related issues. He is a sought out speaker at regional and national conferences where he shares his knowledge and experience on cutting edge trial issues ranging from nuclear verdicts to the reptile theory.

In the construction arena, Keith regularly represents residential and commercial builders, public and private owners, construction managers and design professionals in complex construction law matters. He has a proven record of results in matters involving almost every conceivable issue that can arise from a construction project. This includes payment disputes, mechanic’s lien, stop notice, bond claims, construction defects, delay, acceleration and inefficiency claims, extra work, differing site, changed condition and change order claims, construction site injuries, bid protests, debarment proceedings and False Claims Act disputes. He returned a defense verdict in one of the first construction cases to proceed to trial in California involving SB800, another first as that trial was completely paperless. A compliment to Keith’s construction practice, he is also an adjunct professor at the University of La Verne Law School, where he teaches California Construction Law.

Both public and private entities enjoy the experience and fact that Keith handles employment issues and is conversant in not only the risk management but litigation results in this area of law. This includes HR counseling, representation at EDD and pre-litigation agency hearings, and litigation of complex employment claims in court and in arbitration. He has successfully handled matters involving wrongful termination, wage and hour, PAGA, discrimination, disability, and sexual harassment.

Keith litigates a diverse group of professional liability claims, including the representation of securities brokers, attorneys, home inspectors, public adjusters, real estate professionals, veterinarians, architects, engineers, and surveyors. He is conversant and skilled in defending all sorts of habitability and hospitality issues which fall under this area of law, and has addressed issues for both public and private entities ranging from mold, occupational exposure to habitability. Keith also handles national claims for Legionnaires’ disease and is regularly called upon to address outbreaks and risk prevention for his clients.

Newsroom

News

•Keith Smith Named to Los Angeles Business Journal's Top 100 Lawyers for 2026
Firm News, 4.20.26
•WSHB Elevates Ten Partners to Defined Equity Status
Newsroom, 1.16.20

Events, Seminars & Speaking Engagements

•Verdicts Gone Wild: Protecting Construction Professionals from Explosive Outcomes, ' Speaker, CLM Construction Conference, San Diego, CA, September 18, 2025
•Strategies for Preventing and Defending Legionnaires’ Disease Legal Claims, Speaker, Legionella: The Unseen Pathogen, Modern Prevention Strategies, Dubrovnik, Croatia, June 12 - 13, 2025
•Six Pain Points in Construction Contracts, Advanced-level CLE course instructor, Tackle the Trickiest Construction Contracts Conference, a virtual construction law conference for seasoned practitioners, June 5, 2025

•Navigating the Fallout: Lessons Learned from Nuclear Verdicts for Construction Professionals, Speaker, CLM Construction Conference, Huntington Beach, CA, September 20, 2024

•Emerging Trends in Defending Legionella and Mold Claims: Best Practices for Claims Avoidance & Risk Management, McGriff's Real Estate Edge Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada, October 2 - 4, 2019

Publications

•No Cross-Complaint Needed: Contractor Can Fight Co-Defendant’s Summary Judgment
Case Updates, 9.16.25
•Federal Circuit Clarifies Limits of Design Liability in GSA Contract Dispute
Case Updates, 7.29.25
•California Extends PAGA Exemption for Construction Industry Employees Until 2038: A Win for Employers
Article, 1.10.25
•The California Supreme Courts Rules Public Employers are Exempt from PAGA Actions and Certain Labor Code Provisions
Case Updates, 10.1.24
•Unraveling the Complexity: Addressing the Hurdles of Unmanageable PAGA Claims in California
1.30.24
•Navigating California's New Employment Laws: A Comprehensive Guide for Businesses
Article, 11.27.23
•Court Affirms Exclusion of PAGA Claims from Arbitration
Case Updates, 10.26.23
•Design Immunity May Not Shield a Public Entity From Liability Where it Failed to Warn of a Known Danger
Case Updates, 5.5.23
•Pay Arbitration Fees On Time or Prepare to Face a Jury
Case Updates, 12.14.22
•Court Reporter Shortage Sparks Creative Measures and Widens Door For Blunders
Article, 10.21.22
•Co-Author, Federal Circuit Clarifies Limits of Design Liability in GSA Contract Dispute, in Construction Defect Journal, September 25, 2025
•Co-Author, Extending the Exception: PAGA Exemption for Construction Industry Stretched to 2038, in Construction Claims Magazine, Spring 2025
•Author, Covid-19 Hits the Construction Industry, in Construction Claims Magazine, Summer 2020

Community Activities

•Board of Directors for the March of Dimes (Inland Empire Chapter)
•Event Chair, March of Dimes March for Babies Walk 2013

In the News

•Keith Smith Named to Los Angeles Business Journal's Top 100 Lawyers for 2026
•Clean Sweep in Arbitration: Case Dismissed, Fees Recovered
•No Cross-Complaint Needed: Contractor Can Fight Co-Defendant’s Summary Judgment
•Federal Circuit Clarifies Limits of Design Liability in GSA Contract Dispute

Honors & Recognitions

•Named to Los Angeles Business Journal's Top 100 Lawyers List (2026)
•Super Lawyers Rising Star (2015 - 2016)