Legal Career
Zach Smith has a distinguished career as an Oklahoma trial attorney, philanthropist, and local businessman. In just over two decades, he has gained a vast amount of experience as a successful trial lawyer, an advantage and skill he has consistently used to achieve outstanding results for his vast clientele in various areas of law. Zach’s practice comprises criminal law, civil litigation, personal injury, wrongful death, and insurance bad faith, and it has taken him to jury trials in both state and federal courts.
Zach graduated law school from Oklahoma City University and began his legal career at the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office, where he served as a felony prosecutor from 2002–2006. During this time, Zach gained invaluable experience trying a relatively large number of jury trials for a wide range of felonies, from Rape to Robbery to Murder. He left the DA’s Office at the end of 2006 to begin a solo practice where he initially focused on criminal and DUI defense. However, in 2007, he founded The Tulsa DUI Guy while simultaneously founding the personal injury law firm of Gorospe & Smith, P.L.L.C. He built the Tulsa DUI Guy into the largest DUI practice in Tulsa, and from 2007–2019, he represented over 1,000 clients charged with DUI. He also conducted over two dozen criminal defense jury trials, winning an overwhelming majority of them and obtaining “Not Guilty” verdicts for cases involving Murder, DUI and Manslaughter.
Zach has been very active in the legal community, serving on the Tulsa County Bar Association’s (TCBA) Board of Directors from 2007–2017. From 2015–2016, he was President of the Tulsa County Bar Association. At the end of his term, the Oklahoma Bar Association presented him with the Most Outstanding County Bar Award. He was a member of the National College for DUI Defense, a Founding Member of the DUI Defense Lawyers’ Association, and is a Fellow of the Tulsa County Bar Foundation. He has also served as the Vice President, President-Elect, and Past President of the TCBA. He has been the recipient of numerous awards and accolades during his career.
In 2017, Zach left the Gorospe & Smith Law Firm, and in early 2019, he sold Tulsa DUI Guy. He finished the remainder of 2019 with the Tulsa County Public Defender’s Office. In 2020, Zach continued in solo practice, handling personal injury and criminal defense cases. By 2023, he began the next chapter in his legal career by establishing the Law Office of Zach Smith. He is admitted to practice law in Oklahoma and the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Eastern Districts of Oklahoma.
Education, Spanish & Military Service
- Graduated Oklahoma State University with Bachelors’ Degree in Business Administration (1999)
- Studied Spanish as a Second Language at Oklahoma State (1995-1999)
- Captain in the Oklahoma Army National Guard (1997–2007)
- Graduate of Oklahoma’s Officer Candidate School Class ‘44 (1999)
- Company Commander of the 645th PSC (2002–2005)
- Resigned as Captain After 10 Years (2006)
- Graduated Oklahoma City University School of Law (2002)
Biography
Zach Smith is a 5th generation Oklahoma attorney, born and raised in Holdenville, Oklahoma. His mother was the music teacher for Holdenville Public Schools for 26 years, and his father was the Associate District Judge in Hughes County for 25 years. A proud, lifelong Oklahoman, Zach can trace his ancestry before statehood. Although he comes from a long line of attorneys, his mother and father came from very different backgrounds. This exposed Zach to a diverse group of family members, enriching his appreciation for many different careers and ways of living.
Zach’s father was the first in his family to receive education beyond high school, coming from farmers and oilfield workers in what is now Medford, OK. However, his mother’s family consisted mostly of college graduates and professionals, including many lawyers. Zach’s maternal great-great-grandfather was a Judge in Indian Territory 30 miles north of Holdenville in what is now Okemah, OK. One set of his maternal great-grandparents met in law school in 1918, and his maternal grandparents both graduated from law school in the 1940s after WWII. The women in Zach’s family are among the female pioneers of the law, graduating from law school decades before women could even legally vote. His family has had at least half a dozen female attorneys, including a currently seated Oklahoma State District Judge. Over 10 of his family members still practice law in Tulsa and other areas of the state. Zach’s great uncle, Tony Jack Lyons, was one of the most notorious criminal defense attorneys in the State of Oklahoma at one time. With the law, literally and figuratively, in his blood, becoming a trial attorney and using the law to help people came naturally.
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