Tiffany Smith
Faculty Directory

Tiffanny Smith

Contact

Phone: 802-831-1215

Biography

Tiffanny Smith is a Visiting Professor with the JD Externship Program with Vermont Law and Graduate School.

Tiffanny obtained her juris doctor from NKU Salmon P. Chase College of Law (2014), where she participated in the Constitutional Litigation Clinic as a limited license intern at Ohio Justice & Policy Center (OJPC) fighting for individuals’ human and civil rights in prison. During and immediately following law school, Tiffanny worked at Children’s Law Center of Northern Kentucky where she represented children in high conflict custody cases and physical and sexual abuse cases, advocated for appropriate educational supports (IEPs, 504 Plans, disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline at expulsion hearings), and created the Youth Experiencing Homelessness Project. In May 2016, she returned to OJPC to continue working on human and civil rights in prison and to establish the Women’s Project. Along with representing women for release who were serving life sentences for the death of their abuser, she was part of a collaborative that trained over 400 judges to be better responsive in domestic violence cases. Tiffanny secured the only commutation that Governor John Kasich granted during his eight-year tenure; she and her client appear in the documentary: The Domestic Violence Case That Turned Outrage Into Action (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqxO8L119-w). She also worked at Legal Aid Services of Oregon as a staff attorney and pro bono coordinator.

Tiffanny’s passion and dedication to racial justice is evident throughout her work, especially most recently as the Managing Attorney of the Clinical and Experiential Programs at UDC David A. Clarke School of Law, one of only six accredited HBCU law schools in the nation. Additionally, Tiffanny has mentored well over a hundred law students and young attorneys throughout her legal career, including helping to coordinate and facilitate the Justice Initiative. It is important to her to provide a safe and caring environment where others feel heard, supported, and valued.

Expertise

  • Criminal Post-Conviction
  • Education Advocacy
  • Interpersonal Violence
  • Mentorship

Departments

  • JD Externship Program