LAW PORTAL
- About
About USC Gould
USC Gould is a top-ranked law school with a 115-year history and reputation for academic excellence. We are located on the beautiful 228-acre USC University Park Campus, just south of downtown Los Angeles.
- Academics
Academics
Learn about our rigorous and interdisciplinary curriculum, our invaluable experiential learning opportunities, and the breadth and depth of our specialized areas of concentration and certificate offerings.
- Admissions
Admissions
USC Gould helps prepare you for a stellar legal career. You can pursue a JD degree, one of our numerous graduate and international offerings, or an online degree or certificate.
- Students
Students
Participate in an unparalleled learning experience with diversity of people and thought. Get involved in the law school community and participate in activities that enhance your studies.
- Careers
Careers
We work closely with students, graduates and employers to support successful career goals and outcomes. Our overall placement rate is consistently strong, with 94 percent of our JD class employed within 10 months after graduation.
- Faculty
Faculty
Our faculty is distinguished for its scholarship, as well as for its commitment to teaching. Our 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio creates an intimate and collegial learning environment.
- Alumni and Giving
Alumni and Giving
The global Trojan network of more than 10,000 law alumni and donors include recognized leaders in numerous fields who are deeply committed to supporting student and law school success.
Todd Smith
- FACULTY DIRECTORY
- LECTURERS IN LAW DIRECTORY
- EXPERTS DIRECTORY
- FACULTY IN THE NEWS
- SCHOLARSHIP AND PUBLICATIONS
- DISTINCTIONS AND AWARDS
- + CENTERS AND INITIATIVES
- CENTER FOR LAW AND PHILOSOPHY (CLP)
- CENTER FOR LAW AND SOCIAL SCIENCE (CLASS)
- CENTER FOR LAW, HISTORY AND CULTURE (CLHC)
- CENTER FOR TRANSNATIONAL LAW AND BUSINESS (CTLB)
- IMMIGRANTS AND GLOBAL MIGRATION INITIATIVE (IGMI)
- INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM INSTITUTE (IRI)
- PACIFIC CENTER FOR HEALTH POLICY AND ETHICS
- SAKS INSTITUTE FOR MENTAL HEALTH LAW, POLICY, AND ETHICS
- WORKSHOPS AND CONFERENCES
Lecturer in Law
699 Exposition Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90089-0074 USA
Last Updated: January 13, 2019
Todd Smith dedicates his practice to serving as mediator in litigated and non-litigated matters with an emphasis on employment disputes including claims of discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful termination, whistleblower and retaliation, as well as wage and hour class actions and PAGA actions.
Smith began practicing law as an associate in the employment law department of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker. Later he formed the legal partnership of Helmer • Smith, which represented individual and business clients in various civil rights, intellectual property, personal injury and business matters with a particular focus on litigating employment disputes. He has experience litigating in both state and federal court, and has resolved scores of cases via trial, arbitration and mediation, including a $1.9 million judgment in an age discrimination suit upheld by the California Supreme Court.
Smith is a proud distinguished fellow of the International Academy of Mediators. He has received mediation training on both coasts — including Pepperdine’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution on the West and Linda Singer and Michael Lewis on the East. He served as co-chair of both the San Fernando Valley Bar Association ADR Section and Beverly Hills Bar Association Labor and Employment Law Section.
In addition to his mediation practice, Smith has spent more than a decade teaching employment law in the Los Angeles area as an adjunct professor. Smith has taught at both UCLA Law School and Southwestern Law School where in 2010, he proudly received the Excellence in Teaching Award from the Student Bar Association. He is a passionate supporter of mediation as a dispute resolution technique and frequently serves as a guest speaker regarding employment mediation at various law school, bar association and other trade organization events.
FACULTY IN THE NEWS
Los Angeles Times
January 15, 2020
Re: Wayne Sandholtz
Wayne Sandholtz, a faculty member part of both USC Gould and USC Dornsife, wrote an op-ed discussing how Trump is “a few steps from becoming a new kind of autocrat –an elected one.” He analyzes how Trump’s strategies and actions mirror those of other elected autocrats, naming Viktor Orban, Vladimir Putin, and Rodrigo Duterte as examples.
RECENT SCHOLARSHIP
Ariela Gross
November, 2019
Ariela Gross has been elected as the new Chair of the Legal History Section of the American Association of Law Schools.
Daniel Klerman
November, 2019
“Legal Origin from Outer Space,” Conference on Empirical Legal Studies, Claremont-McKenna College, Claremont, CA.
Thomas D. Lyon
November, 2019
Thomas Lyon commented on Roseanna Sommers’, “Commonsense Consent,” at the 14th Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies, Claremont-McKenna College.
