Jean M. Smith

Jean Smith represents businesses and other stakeholders in bankruptcy, restructuring, creditors’ rights, and commercial litigation matters across the Gulf Coast. Drawing on experience clerking for two federal judges and advanced training in law and business, she approaches complex disputes with a practical understanding of the financial considerations, procedural dynamics, and business objectives that shape successful outcomes.

Before joining Gordon Arata, Jean served as a law clerk to Chief Judge John S. Hodge of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Louisiana, where she analyzed complex bankruptcy issues and prepared bench memoranda addressing matters before the court. She previously clerked for Judge Jerry Edwards Jr. of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, assisting with civil litigation matters, drafting judicial opinions and orders, and managing an active federal docket. Together, these clerkships give Jean an informed perspective on how judges assess legal arguments, evaluate competing interests, and resolve difficult questions.

Jean earned both her J.D. and M.B.A. from Tulane University, combining her legal education with graduate-level business training at the A. B. Freeman School of Business. Her background supports a commercially grounded approach to matters involving financially distressed businesses, creditor recoveries, and disputes that demand careful attention to both legal exposure and economic realities. At Tulane, she served as Senior Articles Editor of the Tulane Maritime Law Journal and received the Dean’s Service Award. She earned her undergraduate degree, cum laude, from Wake Forest University.