On January 30, 1972, British Army paratroopers fired on a peaceful civil rights demonstration in Derry in the North of Ireland, killing 14 unarmed protestors. This infamous day, known as Bloody Sunday, led to a protracted international campaign for a full-scale inquiry into the British Army's conduct, especially after the Government's public position that the soldiers fired in self defense became more and more discredited. Over 20 years later, as part of the Irish Peace Process, the British Government finally succumbed to the international public outcry and created The Bloody Sunday Tribunal of Inquiry, led by three prominent jurists, to conduct a public investigation and hear evidence. Russell Smith was honored to have been appointed by the Tribunal to act as counsel to one of the witnesses, Martin Dillon, a former high-ranking Editor at the BBC. Mr. Dillon conducted recorded interviews with former Prime Minister Edward Heath and the former head of the British Army, Michael Carver. As a result, our client is prepared to submit evidence which indicates that the Government regarded even unarmed civilian protesters as "enemies of the Crown" who legally could be fired upon, and that the British Army planned in advance to incur "casualties" on the day in question.

One of our attorneys was retained by Ireland Uncensored, the operator of the Debate Central message board, to address legal claims and pressure on its advertisers. This board, part of the Ireland Uncensored web site, has been the Internet’s most popular forum for the discussion of the conflict in the North of Ireland, with well over 1 million visits per month. It has been the only uncensored board of its kind, and one of the few places in the world where all sides of the northern Irish conflict have been able to exchange views.

One of our attorneys caused the transfer of the domain name thefarm.com from a service mark infringer to the rightful owner.

"The Rent case" was filed on behalf of dramaturg Lynn Thomson to obtain her fair share of royalties and credit for what the courts recognized was her role in radically transforming Rent from an unproduceable draft into a Pulitzer Prize-winning success. The case resulted in a favorable settlement.

One of our attorneys was among the counsel who defended Irish journalist Sean McPhilemy and Roberts Rinehart Publishers against a $100 million lawsuit in Washington, D.C., brought by two prominent car dealers from the North of Ireland, who alleged they were falsely accused of involvement in an anti-Catholic murder conspiracy in the defendants' best-selling book, The Committee: Political Assassination in Northern Ireland. The accusations against them were withdrawn after the defendants' key witness, James Sands, switched sides. McPhilemy’s integrity as a journalist later was vindicated when the English High Court awarded him a complete victory in his libel case against the conservative London newspaper, The Sunday Times, which had alleged that McPhilemy, in his reporting on the Committee, had perpetrated a hoax upon the public.

One of our attorneys was lead counsel who brought this case on behalf of Candace Carell, the creator of the make-up designs for the musical, Cats. After Ms. Carell won several rounds of litigation, the case was settled.

This is a case that led to a positive change in the law across the United States. While at Frankfurt, Garbus, Klein & Selz, Russell Smith devised and wrote the innovative petition for a writ of mandamus that was granted by the U.S. Court of Appeals, which lifted a broadcast ban affecting over 100 television stations and resulted in a ruling that created a new device for the overturning of temporary restraining orders against the media.

Reverend Donald Wildmon and his right-wing American Family Association filed an $8 million suit seeking to block distribution of Damned in the U.S.A., a documentary about arts censorship produced by the UK's Channel Four Television. While at Frankfurt, Garbus, Klein & Selz, Russell Smith conceived the legal strategy that led to victory for the defendants and overturned an injunction against the film.

In a sensational, five million dollar case involving copyright infringement, false advertising, and violations of rights of publicity, attorney Russell Smith, while at Frankfurt, Garbus, Klein & Selz, won nine pre-trial motions and obtained a seven-figure settlement for lead Public Enemy rapper Chuck D. We currently are representing Chuck in other matters.

In what The Los Angeles Times described as "a suit that could affect virtually anyone who writes fiction in this country," Russell Smith formulated and wrote the winning brief on behalf of best-selling author Terry McMillan and her publishers, in a precedent-setting dismissal of a libel claim based upon a characterization in a novel. Russell did this while at Frankfurt, Garbus, Klein & Selz.

In another "libel-in-fiction" case, this time against best-selling author Nelson Demille and Warner Books, Russell Smith drafted the brief that led to dismissal, again while at Frankfurt, Garbus, Klein & Selz. Long Island historian Monica Randall had brought the lawsuit, alleging that she was the model for the author's portrayal of "Susan Stanhope Sutter," the promiscuous wife of a mobster in the novel, Goldcoast.

The four-year legal war between Academy Chicago Publishers and family of Pulitzer Prize-winning author John Cheever, waged in four courtrooms before 12 state and federal judges in New York and Illinois, ultimately ended with a complete victory for the Cheever family.

This was a pro bono class action lawsuit filed for the Coalition for the Homeless to remedy a "Catch-22" situation imposed upon indigent families whose children have been placed in foster care. This case, brought on behalf of the affected families by Russell Smith, resulted in a victory in the trial court, shed light on a ruinous situation, and led the New York State Legislature to make changes to address the problem.

R/Greenberg Associates (now R/GA), one of the country's leading graphics and visual effects firms, alleged false advertising and obtained an injunction against one of its former directors for listing R/Greenberg projects on promotional reels as his own work. Russell Smith handled this case while at Frankfurt, Garbus, Klein & Selz.

In a "right of publicity" case filed by the Estate of Elvis Presley, theatrical impressarios who sought to profit from the likeness of Elvis Presley in a stage production without a license from his heirs were enjoined from doing so. Russell Smith drafted the legal papers in this case while at Frankfurt, Garbus, Klein & Selz.