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Reid Smith

Partner in Chicago

Services

Admissions

  • Illinois

Court Admissions

  • Northern District of Illinois

Education

Reid has a track record of obtaining dismissals and favorable judgments and has been a member of several trial teams. He has represented clients in a wide variety of industries, including agribusiness, pharmaceuticals, technology services, financial services, and insurance.  

Reid is valued by clients for his vigorous pre-trial case management, positioning cases for favorable resolution through strategic discovery and critical motion practice while also preparing cases for trial. Reid has experience briefing critical motions at the trial court level and has also briefed disputes at every level of federal and state appellate court. He has also argued critical motions, including several successful arguments on case-dispositive motions and one argument in favor of class certification.

Experience

Reid’s recent representative experience includes the following:

  • Currently representing a multinational food processing and commodities trading company facing multiple class action lawsuits in federal court alleging that the company’s trading in ethanol futures violated the Commodity Exchange and Sherman Act, as well as other state law claims.
  • Currently serving as national counsel for a pharmaceutical company facing over 800 products liability lawsuits pending across the country involving the manufacture of opioid medications.
  • Represented a food ingredient manufacturer in a class action case in federal court alleging that the company’s equine produces were contaminated with a product poisonous to horses.
  • Recently went to trial in federal court representing a multinational pharmaceutical company in connection with pharmaceutical patent infringement litigation.
  • Successfully argued in favor of certification of a class of all current and future prisoners incarcerated the Illinois Department of Corrections related to due process and cruel and unusual punishment claims.
  • Represented a major technology company in a breach of contract case in which the opposing party sought hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.

Honors & Awards

Reid was recognized as a “Key Lawyer,” The Legal 500 U.S., Dispute Resolution: Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action – Defense: Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices, 2022.

He was recognized by Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America  (2021-2023) in the area of Commercial Litigation. In 2015, Winston & Strawn was named the “Chicago Litigation Department of the Year” for general litigation by The National Law Journal.

Activities

Reid devotes a substantial amount of his time to his pro bono practice. Before beginning his legal career at Winston & Strawn, Reid worked with the Family Defense Center (now Ascend Justice) on a fellowship through the Public Interest Law Initiative. Reid assisted Ascend Justice in their advocacy of families who have been wrongfully threatened with losing their child in the child welfare system. Reid continues his work with Ascend Justice through the Winston & Strawn pro bono program, and he also serves on the organization’s Young Professionals Board.

Credentials

Reid received his B.A. in History and Political Science with High Distinction from Indiana University in 2011. He received his J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School in 2014, where he served as Production Editor for the Journal of Law, Ethics and Public Policy.

Reid Smith

Partner in Chicago

Reid has a track record of obtaining dismissals and favorable judgments and has been a member of several trial teams. He has represented clients in a wide variety of industries, including agribusiness, pharmaceuticals, technology services, financial services, and insurance.  

Reid is valued by clients for his vigorous pre-trial case management, positioning cases for favorable resolution through strategic discovery and critical motion practice while also preparing cases for trial. Reid has experience briefing critical motions at the trial court level and has also briefed disputes at every level of federal and state appellate court. He has also argued critical motions, including several successful arguments on case-dispositive motions and one argument in favor of class certification.

Services

Honors and Awards

Legal
500
The Legal 500 United States
Ones to
Watch
Best Lawyers

Reid was recognized as a “Key Lawyer,” The Legal 500 U.S., Dispute Resolution: Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action – Defense: Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices, 2022.

He was recognized by Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America  (2021-2023) in the area of Commercial Litigation. In 2015, Winston & Strawn was named the “Chicago Litigation Department of the Year” for general litigation by The National Law Journal.

Activities

Reid devotes a substantial amount of his time to his pro bono practice. Before beginning his legal career at Winston & Strawn, Reid worked with the Family Defense Center (now Ascend Justice) on a fellowship through the Public Interest Law Initiative. Reid assisted Ascend Justice in their advocacy of families who have been wrongfully threatened with losing their child in the child welfare system. Reid continues his work with Ascend Justice through the Winston & Strawn pro bono program, and he also serves on the organization’s Young Professionals Board.

Reid received his B.A. in History and Political Science with High Distinction from Indiana University in 2011. He received his J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School in 2014, where he served as Production Editor for the Journal of Law, Ethics and Public Policy.

Education

University of Notre Dame
JD, 2014
Indiana University
BA, 2011

Admissions

IL
Illinois

Court Admissions

N.D.
Ill.
Northern District of Illinois

Reid’s recent representative experience includes the following:

  • Currently representing a multinational food processing and commodities trading company facing multiple class action lawsuits in federal court alleging that the company’s trading in ethanol futures violated the Commodity Exchange and Sherman Act, as well as other state law claims.
  • Currently serving as national counsel for a pharmaceutical company facing over 800 products liability lawsuits pending across the country involving the manufacture of opioid medications.
  • Represented a food ingredient manufacturer in a class action case in federal court alleging that the company’s equine produces were contaminated with a product poisonous to horses.
  • Recently went to trial in federal court representing a multinational pharmaceutical company in connection with pharmaceutical patent infringement litigation.
  • Successfully argued in favor of certification of a class of all current and future prisoners incarcerated the Illinois Department of Corrections related to due process and cruel and unusual punishment claims.
  • Represented a major technology company in a breach of contract case in which the opposing party sought hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.