Brent Smith, Utah Criminal Defense Attorney

Criminal Defense Lawyer for Salt Lake City and Utah

Brent Smith
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Practice Areas: criminal law
Where he practices: statewide in Utah
Phone: 801-364-6454
Contact Brent Smith

Brent Smith is not only a highly skilled lawyer, who’s competent and thorough, but he’s extremely compassionate, too. His clients love him because he’s very easy to talk to, and actually answers his own phone calls 24/7 (even on Saturdays and Sundays). Parents also love him because of how thoughtful he is when he represents a juvenile, teenager, young man or woman, or college student.

Mr. Smith politely insists that his Clients never apologize for "bothering" him. After all, he understands that he works for them, not the other way around. His clients find this to be very refreshing, and he is always there for them. He also realizes that most people work for a living, so Mr. Smith typically meets with his clients after hours at restaurants. This puts the clients at ease, and allows them to meet with him without putting their day job, or their schooling, in jeopardy. When his clients have little kids, he’ll even meet with them at a place that has a playland. Of course, he’s happy to meet his clients at his office in downtown Salt Lake City, too, which has been at the same location for nearly twenty years.

Because he’s practiced for nearly twenty years, he knows nearly every judge and prosecutor. And he’s admired for his savvy negotiating, which means that his clients can typically achieve the best result without having to risk losing at trial. However, his first goal is always to see if a case can be dismissed, usually because of an illegal stop or search, or because the police did not properly investigate before filing charges.

He’s always felt that it is much better the educate the Prosecutor than fight with him or her. In other words, he does not beat his chest as some attorneys do; rather, he seeks to educate the other side about the law and the facts. For this reason, he thoroughly investigates the law and the facts on the cases that he is involved with.

Mr. Smith has always been a high achiever, and his drive for the best result will help you get justice. For example, in high school, he was class president twice, and was awarded a college football scholarship. His college team even won the National Championship. Fortunately for his clients, Mr. Smith suffered numerous shoulder dislocations and other injuries that forced him to choose a different career route than football. So, instead of chasing quarterbacks on the gridiron, he decided to fight for people’s rights in courtrooms.

Many other areas of the law pay better (like ambulence chasing and suing people), but Mr. Smith truly feels tremendous satisfaction by helping people avoid being locked up, and hanging onto their most precious rights and privileges. His clients can sense his loyalty and empathy. His heart, mind and soul are all set on seeing his clients get the best result possible – whether that be a dismissal, or the best negotiated deal.

Immediately out of law school in the early 1990s, Mr. Smith gained valuable insights while working as a city prosecutor in Texas under the direction of more experienced lawyers. Although he enjoyed his prosecutorial experience, he felt he could do more good by being a defense attorney. Since then, Mr. Smith has literally been involved in thousands and thousands of cases. There is very little that he has not seen, and has successfully resolved thousands of cases for his clients.

Mr. Smith focuses ONLY on criminal law. In fact, it is about 99% of all that he does. So, you can be assured that he knows exactly what he is doing when it comes to getting you the best result. He fights fair and hard, and he does not turn off prosecutors and judges with an overly aggressive posture. This is very important because when he goes to talk to the prosecutor about your case, you can be assured that he has not "burned his bridges", and that the prosecutor or judge is not going to dislike you simply because they dislike your lawyer. Contrary to what some people think, the defense attorneys who bark like wild dogs in courtrooms don’t typically get the best results (and in the end, they usually get put down, just like any other out of control pit bull). Everybody wants to be respected, especially prosecutors, judges and jurors.

Mr. Smith also taught high school for over a decade (foreign languages), and was even his high school’s "teacher of the year". Because of this, he is highly skilled in language, and that will work to your benefit. Because he taught high school and junior high for so long, he is great with juveniles, teenages, and younger adults. So, if you are a parent, you can rest assured that your child is in very loving, capable hands (he also has many kids himself, so he can related to what you as a parent are feeling).

He is also a great writer, who has written two novels, countless short stories, a screen play, and has been published many, many times in the nation’s most elite newspapers, including the USA Today. Diane Sawyer even interviewed him on Good Morning America – a show that has featured his commentaries twice.

Mr. Smith also teaches negotiation skills to other attorneys, and the "power of words". He believes that being polite, professional and highly educated are the true keys to winning a case – not bombastic rudeness. He always says, "If you want to put somebody in the grave, kill them with kindness ! In the end, the more professional and better prepared person usually prevails, not the loudest and ugliest."

Brent Smith is also known as a "Lawyer’s Lawyer". He is an instructor on BestOnlineCLE.com, teaching online CLE (continuing legal education) courses to other attorneys.

Mr. Smith will work hard for you!

Areas of Practice

• 99% Criminal Law

Bar Admissions

• Utah, 1992
• U.S. District Court District of Utah, 1992

Education

• Brigham Young University, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Provo, Utah
• J.D.
• Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
• B.A.
• Honors: With Honors
• Honors: Golden Key Honor Society
• Major: American Studies Languages

Languages

• Spanish, French, Italian (and he dabbles in German, Russian, Chinese and Japanese, too!)

Contact Us Now Call 801-364-6454 now for a free consultation.
Call, text or email, day or night, and even on week-nights and holidays. If we miss you, we will respond shortly, usually within 10 minutes. You WILL talk to a criminal defense attorney today.