Johanna E. Smith

Johanna E. Smith is an associate in Gibson Dunn's Houston office.

Johanna practices in the firm’s Litigation Department, where she represents and counsels clients through the entire lifecycle of complex litigation.

Johanna has represented clients in state and federal court across the country in a wide range of subject matters—from technology and real estate to energy, entertainment, and financial services.

Recent Representative Matters:

• Gray Development and Gray Services v. ZOM Holdings Inc. Trial counsel in a twelve-day jury trial in Phoenix, winning a $296 million verdict for Arizona developers Gray Development and Gray Services. The case involved ZOM's misuse of Gray's proprietary development plans and breach of non-circumvention and non-disclosure agreements. The American Lawyer recognized the team as “Litigators of the Week.”
• Energy Transfer LP & Dakota Access LLC v. Greenpeace – Trial counsel in a landmark defamation and trespass case resulting in a $667 million jury verdict, the largest in North Dakota history. The American Lawyer recognized the team with its “Litigator of the Week” honors.
• Won judgment on the pleadings and dismissal for a social media company based on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
• Defended commodities trading house in electricity market-related FERC civil enforcement action.
• Represented enterprise software company in breach-of-contract dispute.
• Defended social media company in case of first impression interpreting Texas’s biometrics law.
• Represented energy company in breach-of-contract dispute relating to petrochemical terminal ownership.

Before joining the firm, Johanna served as a law clerk to the Honorable Roger L. Wollman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Johanna earned her law degree magna cum laude from Washington University School of Law, where she served as Executive Notes Editor for the Journal of Law & Policy and worked as a research assistant to Professor John D. Inazu. She graduated as a member of the Order of the Coif. Johanna received her Bachelor of Arts in Government from Patrick Henry College, graduating summa cum laude with highest honors.

Johanna is a member of the Texas bar and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Seventh and Ninth Circuits and the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Texas.

Capabilities

• Litigation
• Appellate and Constitutional Law
• Class Actions
• Energy Regulation and Litigation
• Energy and Infrastructure
• Environmental Litigation and Mass Tort
• Privacy, Cybersecurity, and Data Innovation
• Securities Litigation
• Tech and Innovation
• Transnational Litigation
• Trials
• White Collar Defense and Investigations

Credentials

Education:

• Washington University in St. Louis - 2020 Juris Doctor
• Patrick Henry College - 2017 Bachelor of Arts

Admissions:

• Texas Bar

Clerkships:

• US Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit, Hon. Roger L. Wollman, 2020 - 2021