
G. David Smith
Texas attorneys elected G. David Smith, of Rockwall, to be president-elect of the State Bar of Texas and Armin Salek, of Austin, as president-elect of the Texas Young Lawyers Association during a monthlong voting period that ended today.
Smith received 52.03% — 8,541 — of the 16,417 votes cast during the monthlong voting period that ended April 30. His opponent, Deborah L. Cordova, of Edinburg, received 47.97%, or 7,876 votes.
Smith will be sworn in as president-elect during a State Bar of Texas Board of Directors meeting on June 19, 2025, and will serve as president of the State Bar of Texas from June 2026 to June 2027.
Smith is a founding partner in Smith & Lee Lawyers in Rockwall. Originally from Slaton, his family moved to Canyon and later to Muleshoe, where he graduated from high school. Smith earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at the Permian Basin and his law degree from Texas Tech University School of Law.
After earning his law degree, Smith joined the Odessa firm of Brannan and Pipes in 1983. The following year, he opened the Law Offices of G. David Smith in Odessa, focusing on criminal defense and civil litigation. In 1989, Smith relocated to Dallas to expand his practice to include personal injury law. In 2002, he moved the office to Rockwall, and the firm eventually became Smith & Lee with the addition of his stepson, Ryan K. Lee. Continue Reading