William Smart is a senior litigator with over 40 years of experience in criminal, administrative, and regulatory law, as well as defending civil sexual assault claims. He has represented clients under federal and provincial Acts, including the Fisheries, Customs, Excise, Workers Compensation, Mines, Securities, Police, Gaming Enforcement, and Elections Acts, and has appeared for both defence and Crown in all levels of court in British Columbia, the Yukon, and the Supreme Court of Canada. He is peer-rated by Martindale-Hubbell as Pre-eminent Counsel (AV). Appointed King’s Counsel in 1996, he was the 2001 Milvain Visiting Chair in Advocacy at the University of Calgary Faculty of Law. He was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers (2002) and the International Society of Barristers (2005). He has contributed to continuing legal education for over 35 years, including the Federation of Law Societies National Criminal Law Program (1984–2017), the McEachern Advanced Trial Advocacy Course at UBC, and the Inns of Court program, advising young lawyers on ethics and professional responsibilities. He was a member of Canada’s 1972 Olympic Track and Field team.
