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Robert H. Smith
Professor of Law
Suffolk University Law School
120 Tremont Street
Boston, MA 02108
617-573-8573
EDUCATION
University of Chicago Law School, J.D., 1972
Order of the Coif (top 10%)
Wesleyan University, B.A. (Philosophy), 1968
EMPLOYMENT
Suffolk University Law School
2020-Present Research Professor & Dean Emeritus
1999-2020 Professor of Law
1999-2007 Dean
Boston College Law School
1980-1999 Assistant, Associate and Professor of Law
1990 Acting Dean
1986-1990 Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
1975-1979 Director, Boston College Legal Assistance Bureau
University of Chicago Law School
1972-1975 Supervising Attorney and Clinical Fellow,
Mandel Legal Aid Clinic
LAW SCHOOL TEACHING
Courses: Currently Co-Teach Constitutional Justice in Schools as part of
the Marshall Brennan Program :
Previously Taught Constitutional Law, Supreme Court
Seminar, Mediation, Negotiation, Civil Procedure and Civil
Litigation Clinic
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ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICE
Suffolk University Law School
Dean (1999-2007). Responsible for general oversight of academic program,
administrative departments, budget, university relations, alumni activities and
institutional advancement. During deanship, the Law School received national
recognition for its clinical education and legal research & writing programs,
established a Center for Law & Public Service, created graduate and international
programs, increased selectivity in admissions, improved graduates’ bar passage
rate, and enhanced the diversity of the student body and faculty.
Law School and University Service (as Professor – 2007 to 2020). Chaired or co-
chaired Law School committees on Appointments, Curriculum, Clinical
Programs, and Legal Writing; served on committees on Academic Support,
Admissions, ABA Self-Study, Diversity, and Faculty Review. Served on
University Diversity Task Force. Coordinated the Masterman Speaker Series and
was faculty advisor to Suffolk University Law Review.
Boston College Law School
Acting Dean (Fall, 1990) and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs (1986-1990).
Administered Law School academic program and collaborated with other deans
on general Law School administration. Served as chair of the Tenure and
Promotions Committee, chaired Accreditation Self-Study, coordinated
ABA/AALS Accreditation Site Visit and hosted alumni and development events.
RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP
Case Studies in Mediation (Co-authored with Dean Yongan Liao and Professor
Benwu Qin, Xiangtan School of Law, China; published in Mandarin) (2014)
Affirmative Action Survives Fisher (Sort of), but What About Schuette?, 1 SUFFOLK U.
L. REV. ONLINE 65, http://www.suffolklawreview.org/Schuette-Smith (2013)
Teaching Videos in Mediation Training, posted on Social Science Research
Network: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2136170 (2012)
The Librarian’s Risk of Irrelevance (in the Eyes of the Law School Dean),
95 LAW LIBRARY J. 421 (2003)
Uncoupling the “Centrist Bloc”: An Empirical Analysis of the Thesis of a
Dominant, Moderate Bloc on the U.S. Supreme Court, 62 TENNESSEE LAW
REVIEW 443 (Fall 1994).
Testing the Patterns, 1 BOSTON COLLEGE LAW SCHOOL MAGAZINE 33
(1993).
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Justice Souter Joins the Rehnquist Court: An Empirical Study of Supreme Court
Voting patterns, 41 KANSAS LAW REVIEW 11 (1992).
Pennhurst v. Halderman: The Eleventh Amendment, Erie and Pendent State Law
Claims, 34 BUFFALO LAW REVIEW, 227 (1985).
Full Faith and Credit and Section 1983: A Reappraisal, 63 NORTH
CAROLINA LAW REVIEW 59 (1984).
1984 Annual Survey of Massachusetts Law, Chapter on Civil Procedure, 31
ANNUAL SURVEY OF MASSACHUSETTS LAW 235-254.
PRESENTATIONS & TRAININGS
“Federal Preemption & State Regulation of Immigration” (Flashpoints in
Federalism Panel, Advanced Legal Studies Program), February 17, 2012
“Reflections on Mediation Training in China” (Panel on Culture & Conflict,
Community Dispute Settlement Center), April 10, 2012
“Constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act” (Boston-Area Alumni Association
of the University of Chicago), May 24, 2012
Mediation Trainer, Sino-American Mediation Training Conference (Xiangtan
University Law School, Hunan Province, China), June 25-29, 2012
“Fisher v. University of Texas: The Supreme Court Revisits Affirmative Action”
(Massachusetts Attorney General’s Institute), July 18, 2012
“Community Mediation” (Presentation to delegation of Chinese government
officials and educators), September 10, 2012
“Same-Sex Marriage and the U.S. Supreme Court” (Suffolk University Law
School Alumni Reunion Program), September 28, 2012
Mediation Trainer, Community Mediation Techniques, MetroWest Mediation
Services, October 12, 2012
Moderator, Panel on “Mediation Practice” (U. Massachusetts/Boston Conference
on Conflict Studies: The New Generation of Ideas), October 20, 2012
Mediation Trainer, Child Support Issues in Divorce Mediation (Community
Dispute Settlement Center), April 30, 2013
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“Will Affirmative Action Survive Fisher v. University of Texas and Schuette v.
Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action?” (Presentation at the Massachusetts
Attorney General’s Institute), June 10, 2013
“Constitutional Law & the Supreme Court: A Review and a Preview”
(Presentation to Annual Convention of Massachusetts Municipal Lawyers),
October 18, 2013
Moderator, Panel on “Responding to Hate On the Internet: The Law and Its
Limits” (Suffolk University Law School & Anti-Defamation League), November
4, 2013
Mediation Trainer, Child Support Issues in Divorce Mediation (Community
Dispute Settlement Center), May 7, 2014
“The First Amendment: The Supreme Court & Local Government” (Presentation
to Annual Convention of Massachusetts Municipal Lawyers), October 17, 2014
“Using Teaching Videos in Mediation Training” (Presentation to delegation of
Korean government officials and law school professors), February 20, 2015
“Child Support & Alimony Issues in Divorce Mediation” (MetroWest Mediation
Services), April 7, 2015
Mediation Trainer, Child Support Issues in Divorce Mediation (Community
Dispute Settlement Center), May 7, 2015
“Free Speech and Religious Accommodation: Implications of the Supreme
Court’s 2015 Decisions for Municipalities and Municipal Lawyers” (Presentation
to Annual Convention of Massachusetts Municipal Lawyers Association),
September 19, 2015
“First Amendment, True Threats & Rap Music Lyrics, (Panel on Elonis v. U.S.,
Suffolk University Law School), October 8, 2015
Mediation Trainer, Child Support Issues in Divorce Mediation (Community
Dispute Settlement Center), May 9, 2016
“Lawyers & the Rule of Law in Times of Change”, (Panel on anticipated
developments in the Trump administration, Suffolk University Law School),
January 18, 2017
“The Supreme Court and the Evolving First Amendment” (Presentation to Annual
Convention of Massachusetts Municipal Lawyers Association), September 15,
2017
Mediation Trainer, New Massachusetts’ Child Support Guidelines (MetroWest
Mediation Services), September 28, 2017
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“Impact Litigation in the Trump Era” (Panel presentation to the Government
Lawyers Forum and the Civil Rights/Civil Liberties Section of the Boston Bar
Association), March 5, 2018
“Developments in Constitutional Law” (Presentation at the 2018 Municipal Law
Conference, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education) March 7, 2018
“Mediation of Financial Issues in Divorce: Child Support, Alimony and Division
of Property” (Community Dispute Settlement Center), May 10, 2018
“Constitutional Law & the Trump Supreme Court” (Presentation to Annual
Convention of Massachusetts Municipal Lawyers Association), September 22,
2018
“Impeachment 101: The Legal Framework for Impeachment” (Panel presentation,
Suffolk University Law School), November 5, 2019
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights under Law. Member of the Board of
Directors (2000 to present); Chair, Board Affairs Committee.
MetroWest Mediation Services, Inc. President of the Board of Directors of
community mediation program (member of board since 1992).
Greater Boston Legal Services. Member of the Corporation (2008 to present).
Program Advisory Committee, Community Mediation Center. Appointed to state-
wide advisory committee for state funding for community mediation programs in
Massachusetts (2012 to 2017).
The Second Step. Member of the Board of Directors of residential and social
service program for survivors of domestic violence (2004 to 2016).
Mediation Trainer, Sino-American Mediation Training. Mediation training for
lawyers, judges and law professors at Xiangtan University Law School (October
2011 & June 2012).
Mediator and Mediation Trainer. Volunteer mediator and trainer in community
mediation programs in Cambridge, Framingham and Worcester, and a peer
mediation program at Newton North High School.
Pipeline for Civic Leadership. Member of the Steering Committee, sponsoring
event to connect professionals of color with non-profit organizations seeking
volunteers and board members (2010).
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Boston Bar Association Council. Member of the Council, the governing board of
the Boston Bar Association (1999 – 2004).
Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee. Appointed by the Supreme Judicial
Court of Massachusetts (2000 to 2008).
American Bar Association, Section of Legal Education and Admission to the Bar,
appointed member of Curriculum Committee (2001 – 2006).
Tenure and Promotion Reviews. Prepared evaluations of articles for Promotions
Committees at S.U.N.Y. Buffalo School of Law, Vanderbilt Law School and
Southern Methodist University Law School.
ABA Accreditation Site Evaluation Team. Participated in site visits and prepared
evaluations as part of the ABA/AALS accreditation of the University of Michigan
Law School and the University of San Diego Law School.
Interviews regarding the Supreme Court, including high profile decisions, end of
term assessments, previews of upcoming terms, the retirements of Justice Souter,
Justice Stevens, Justice White, Justice Blackmun, and the appointments of Justice
Kagan, Justice Sotomayor, Justice Thomas, Justice Ginsburg and Justice Breyer,
broadcast by C-Span, New England Cable News (NECN), Fox News, WCVB,
WGBH, WBZ radio, Channel 56 television, and published by the Boston Globe,
Chicago Sun-Times, Newsday, Philadelphia Inquirer, Detroit Free Press, San
Diego Union-Tribune, Arizona Republic, Sacramento Bee and other newspapers.
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
Distinguished Service Award. Alumni Association of Boston College Law
School at its Law Day Dinner, May 2000.
Founder’s Medal. Awarded at Boston College Law School’s Commencement
Ceremony, May 2001.
Community Peacemaker Award, Community Dispute Settlement Center at its
annual dinner, November 2005.
Centennial Award. Black Law Students Association of Suffolk University Law
School, at its annual dinner, April 2007.
Alexander Cella Memorial Award. Suffolk University Law Review at its annual
dinner, March 2007, and at the graduation awards ceremony, May, 2018.
Robert H. Smith Centennial Scholarship. Established and funded by members of
the Dean’s Advisory Committee, distinguished alumni of Suffolk University Law
School, June, 2007.
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Lorraine Cove Spirit of Suffolk Award. Selected by students in the graduating
Class of 2012 for “dedication and passion for Suffolk University Law School”,
May, 2012.
Suffolk University Heritage Medallion. Awarded to former members of the
faculty and administration to commemorate their distinguished service to the
University. April, 2022.
