© Brad Slade
D. Gordon Smith was appointed dean of BYU Law on May 1, 2016. The Glen L. Farr Professor of Law, Dean Smith served as associate dean for faculty and curriculum for five years. Prior to joining the BYU Law faculty in 2007, Dean Smith was a professor of law at the University of Wisconsin Law School, and he has taught as a visiting law professor at Vanderbilt University Law School, Arizona State University College of Law, Washington University School of Law in St Louis, and Lewis and Clark Law School.
An expert in law and entrepreneurship, Dean Smith has written extensively on the role of law in promoting entrepreneurial action, and he co-founded the Law and Entrepreneurship Association. He was also a founding faculty member of the Crocker Innovation Fellowship at BYU. A Delaware corporate lawyer, Smith has published foundational articles on the theory of fiduciary relationships, and he is co-authoring a law school casebook on fiduciary law. Dean Smith currently serves as Chair of the Section on Transactional Law and Skills for the American Association of Law Schools.
A popular professor, Dean Smith has received several teaching awards, including being voted the BYU Law School Alumni Association’s Teacher of the Year by the three most recent graduating classes. He has also taught in Australia, China and throughout Europe.
Dean Smith received his bachelor’s degree in accounting from BYU and his JD from the University of Chicago Law School.
BYU Academic Vice President Brent W. Webb said that Dean Smith is well qualified to lead the law school, “The law school will benefit from his creativity and commitment to high standards.”