Michael Smith was born and raised in Tennessee but has been a Hoosier for most of his life. After receiving a B.E. in chemical engineering (summa cum laude) from Vanderbilt University in 1978, he accepted a job with Eli Lilly and Company in Lafayette, Indiana. He took an educational leave of absence from from 1980 until 1982 while he completed a Master of Science degree in chemical engineering, doing research on the potential application of ion exchange technology in the development of an artificial kidney. He returned to Lilly, working first as an engineer in Chemical Process Research and Development and then as a department head of Biochemical Engineering in Bioprocess Research and Development. In 1989 he enrolled in law school while continuing to work full time, obtaining a J.D. (summa cum laude) from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in 1993. He then moved to the Lilly Law Division, working first in the Environmental Law Group, and then in Securities and Commercial Transactions. While he was in the Law Division, he organized and led the Lilly Law Divison Pro Bono program. In 2008, he elected to retire from Lilly early to open a business law practice in Fishers, Indiana, originally known as Michael Smith Law Office, LLC and later as Smith Rayl Law Office, LLC. In 2018, he and his partner, Susan Rayl, joined with attorneys Joel Hand, Rachelle Ponist, and Valerie Horvath in forming Hand, Ponist, Horvath, Smith & Rayl, LLC. His recreational interests include backpacking and woodworking with hand tools.
- Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law
- J.D. (1993) | Law
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- Honors: summa cum laude
- Activities: Note Development Editor, Indiana Law Review
- Purdue University - Purdue University
- M.S. (1982) | Chemical Engineering
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- Activities: Research in the possible application of ion exchange technology in artificial kidneys.
- Vanderbilt University
- B.E. (1978) | Chemical Engineering
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- Honors: summa cum laude
- Partner
- Hand Ponist Horvath Smith & Rayl, LLC
- - Current
- Attorney
- Hand Ponist Horvath Smith & Rayl, LLC
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- Originally Michael Smith Law Office, LLC
- Adjunct Professor
- Indiana University School of Law -- Indianapolis
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- Taught Contract Drafting to law students
- Contract Attorney
- Community Development Law Center
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- Adjunct Professor
- Indiana University School of Law -- Indianapolis
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- Conducted the Nonprofit Externship Program for law students at the Community Development Law Center.
- Attorney/Counsel
- Eli Lilly and Company
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- For more than fourteen years, Michael Ray Smith was in-house counsel for Eli Lilly and Company. While in Lilly's law division, Mike worked in the environmental legal department, in the office of the corporate secretary, and, for the last ten years, in the commercial transactions group. While in commercial transactions, Mike supported the Company's global sourcing operations, writing and negotiating contracts for all manner of goods and services, including a $1.3 billion energy management outsourcing transaction.
- Yes, Your LLC Needs an Operating Agreement
- Fishers Business Insider
- Limiting the Discretion of the Administrator of Poor Relief in Indiana
- Indiana Law Review
- Advising Closely Held For-Profit Businesses, Annual CLE Conference, Rochester, IN
- Fulton County Bar Association
- Heartland Pro Bono Award
- Heartland Pro Bono Council
- Indiana State Bar Association
- Member
- Current
- American Institute of Chemical Engineers
- Member
- Current
- Indiana
- D.C. Circuit
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana
- Credit Cards Accepted
Visa, MasterCard, Discover
- Business Law
- Estate Planning
- Securities Law
- Appeals & Appellate
- Limited Liability Companies
- Nonprofit Organizations
- English: Spoken, Written
- Website
- Michael Ray Smith's Website Profile
- Website
- Hand Ponist Horvath Smith & Rayl, LLC Business Law Website
- Website
- Hand Ponist Horvath Smith & Rayl, LLC Main Website
- Blog
- Indiana Business Law Blog