Hannah Clayson Smith is an American attorney with the firm Schaerr Jaffe. Smith is a senior fellow at the

International Center for Law and Religion Studies The International Center for Law and Religion Studies (ICLRS), part of the J. Reuben Clark Law School (JRCLS) at Brigham Young University (BYU), was formally founded on January 1, 2000, to promote freedom of religion worldwide and to study the rela ...

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

(BYU) and a member of the Board of Directors of the Religious Freedom Institute.

Biography

Smith was raised in California and is the sister of Jane Clayson Johnson. She earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to si ...

from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

before attending BYU's

J. Reuben Clark Law School The J. Reuben Clark Law School (BYU Law or JRCLS) is the graduate law school of Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. Founded in 1973, the school is named after J. Reuben Clark, a former U.S. Ambassador, Undersecretary of State, and ...

. During law school, Smith was elected to the

Order of the Coif The Order of the Coif is an honor society for United States law school graduates. The name is a reference to the ancient English order of advocates, the serjeants-at-law, whose courtroom attire included a coif—a white lawn or silk skullcap, ...

and served as Executive Editor of the ''

BYU Law Review The ''Brigham Young University Law Review'' is a law journal edited by students at Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was fou ...

''. Smith also served as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

for

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

in the Switzerland Geneva

Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

, which covered parts of Switzerland and France. Following law school, Smith clerked for then-Judge

Samuel Alito Samuel Anthony Alito Jr. ( ; born April 1, 1950) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George W. Bush on October 31, 2005, and has serve ...

of the

Third Circuit Court of Appeals The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (in case citations, 3d Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts for the following districts: * District of Delaware * District of New Jersey * Ea ...

. She next clerked for Justice

Clarence Thomas Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to succeed Thurgood Marshall and has served since 1 ...

of the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

from 2003 to 2004, and then returned in 2006 to clerk at the Supreme Court a second time for Justice Alito following his appointment as an associate justice. She practiced law at

Williams & Connolly Williams & Connolly LLP is an American law firm based in Washington, D.C. The firm was founded by trial lawyer Edward Bennett Williams in collaboration with Paul Connolly, a former student of his. Williams left the partnership of D.C. firm Hog ...

and

Sidley Austin Sidley Austin LLP is an American multinational law firm with approximately 2,000 lawyers in 20 offices worldwide. The firm's headquarters is at One South Dearborn in Chicago's Loop. The firm specializes in a variety of areas in both litigati ...

in Washington D.C. Smith's legal practice focuses on appellate litigation. She was part of the legal team for landmark U.S. Supreme Court victories such as '' Zubik v. Burwell'', '' Burwell v. Hobby Lobby'', '' Holt v. Hobbs'', and '' Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC''. In 2017, Smith testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in support of

Neil Gorsuch Neil McGill Gorsuch ( ; born August 29, 1967) is an American lawyer and judge who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President Donald Trump on January 31, 2017, and has served since ...

's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. Her testimony reviewed his jurisprudence relating to religious liberty cases, including two of Becket's clients: the Little Sisters of the Poor and Hobby Lobby.

Honors and awards

In 2014, Smith was awarded the BYU Alumni Achievement Award. In 2016, Smith was awarded the J. Reuben Clark Law Society's Women-in-Law Leadership Award. In 2018, she was awarded the James Madison Award from the Center for Constitutional Studies. Smith served on the Brigham Young University Law School's Board of Advisers as well as on the '' Deseret News'' editorial advisory board. Smith was on the inaugural panel of

Stanford Law School Stanford Law School (Stanford Law or SLS) is the law school of Stanford University, a private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world. Stanford La ...

's religious freedom clinic.

Personal life

She is married to John Smith, an attorney who also clerked for Alito, and they have four children.

References

Selected publications

* Smith, Hannah & Daniel Benson (2017)
When a Pastor's House Is a Church Home: Why the Parsonage Allowance Is Desirable Under the Establishment Clause
The Federalist Society Review.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Hannah Clayson 1973 births Living people J. Reuben Clark Law School alumni Princeton School of Public and International Affairs alumni American Mormon missionaries in Switzerland Female Mormon missionaries American Mormon missionaries in France Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States American civil rights lawyers 21st-century American lawyers Lawyers from Washington, D.C. Lawyers from Salt Lake City Washington, D.C., Republicans Utah Republicans American scholars of constitutional law Latter Day Saints from Virginia Latter Day Saints from California American women legal scholars American legal scholars 21st-century American women lawyers