Clifford Ashcroft-Smith
Trial Lawyer – Dallas
Phone: (214) 941-8300
Email: Click here to email Clifford Ashcroft-Smith
Clifford is a trial lawyer with more than fifteen years of experience representing individuals and small businesses in major litigation across the United States. He has won both civil and criminal cases before the United States Court of Appeals, overturned cases against the odds, and prosecuted cases on behalf of the United States Department of Justice.
He has been tested at nearly every level in both the state and federal courts — from proceedings before local Texas judges to petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court.
Clifford’s experience includes defending executives in white-collar global prosecutions, representing companies in a wide variety of disputes, and protecting the rights of individuals and families in civil and criminal matters. He loves fighting for his clients and takes pride in winning cases through hard work and attention to detail.
In law school, Clifford served as a judicial intern for the Honorable Jennifer Walker Elrod of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He also worked as a law clerk in the Department of Justice U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia. During this time, he served as a federal prosecutor trying countless cases on behalf of the Executive Branch. Before attending law school, Clifford worked for two years in business banking at Wells Fargo & Company in Austin, Texas.
Outside of his legal practice, Clifford is an Eagle Scout and a former Olympic Torch Bearer for the Salt Lake 2002 Winter Games.
Education
The University of Texas at Austin
Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Government, minor Spanish, 2004
- Legislative Intern, Texas House of Representatives, 78th Session
- La Universidad de Alicante, Spain, 2002
- Dean’s Honor List; University Honors, The University of Texas at Austin
Washington and Lee University School of Law
Juris Doctorate, 2009
- Editor-in-Chief, Lexington Principles Project
- Lead Articles Editor, Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice
- Lexington Principles Steering Committee Editorial Award
Professional Associations
- Texas Trial Lawyers Association
- Dallas Trial Lawyers Association
- Tarrant County Trial Lawyers Association
- Houston Trial Lawyers Association
- American Association for Justice
- The College of the State Bar of Texas, Member
Courts of Admittance
• Supreme Court of the United States
• State Bar of Texas
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
• U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
Publications
- What is the Customary Law of War or Does that Even Matter?, 32 National Security Law Report 3, Standing Committee on Law & National Security, American Bar Association (2011)
- Rhetoric to Reality: Citizenship Delays and U.S. International Obligations in the Post-9/11 Landscape, Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights & Social Justice 16.2 (2011)
