2022 Up & Coming Awards: Jason Smith, 42

Managing Partner, Spencer Fane, Springfield

Practice Areas: business litigation: contracts, torts, real estate, construction

Law School:  Washington University

Jason Smith has called Springfield home since 2005, when he joined Husch Blackwell straight out WashU law school.

He joined Spencer Fane, his current firm, when it opened a southwest Missouri outpost eight years ago. Spencer Fane’s Springfield team has since nearly tripled, growing from a handful of lawyers to a 16-attorney team. Smith was named managing partner in Springfield last year.

“Spencer Fane felt fortunate to bring him on board in 2014, and he has continually improved and not only refined his legal work in (that) time since but established himself as clear leader not only for our firm but also the local, regional, and state professional communities,” colleague Taylor Hayslett said in her nomination letter.

Among his courtroom wins: defeating class certification on behalf of a university in a fraud class-action seeking tens of millions of dollars in damages; and obtaining the dismissal of claims seeking more than $10 million in damages against a Fortune 500 retailer.