When she was appointed in 1995, Judge Smith was an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. She had previously served as an ADA in Brooklyn and an Assistant Attorney General for the State of New York in Albany. Judge Smith earned her J.D. degree from Duke University School of Law. She is on the Boards of Editors of the Federal Courts Law Review, and the Federal Bar Council Quarterly. Judge Smith is a member and President-Elect of the Westchester Women’s Bar Association. She is active in the Federal Bar Association, the Federal Magistrate Judges Association and the Federal Bar Council. Judge Smith is an adjunct professor of Evidence and Civil Procedure, and teaches Federal Courts, at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University.