Hannah Smith specializes in appellate and religious freedom matters. She has contributed to over 25 briefs at the US Supreme Court and has represented diverse religious parties in federal courts around the country, including Anglicans, Assemblies of God, Baptists, Catholics, Hindus, Hutterites, Jews, Lutherans, Muslims, Russian Orthodox, Santeros, Sikhs, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Hannah previously served for a decade as Senior Counsel at The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. While at Becket, she represented the winning parties in four landmark religious freedom SCOTUS victories: Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC (2012); Burwell v. Hobby Lobby (2014); Holt v. Hobbs (2015); and Zubik v. Burwell (2016).

Hannah served as a law clerk to two U.S. Supreme Court Justices: Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. She graduated from Princeton University (majoring in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs) and BYU Law School (Order of the Coif). She served as Executive Editor on the Law Review.

Hannah has testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in support of then-US Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch and has briefed policymakers at the White House, U.S. Capitol, and State Department, among others.

Hannah received BYU’s Alumni Achievement Award, the JRCLS’s Women-in-Law Leadership Award, and the Center for Constitutional Studies’ James Madison Award. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Religious Freedom Institute, the Board of Advisers for her Law School alma mater, and as a Senior Fellow at the International Center for Law and Religion Studies.

She joined Schaerr Jaffe as counsel in December 2019.

Education

  • Brigham Young University (J.D.)
  • Princeton University (B.A.)

Clerkship

  • U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr.
  • U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Clarence Thomas

Admissions

  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • District of Columbia

Amicus Brief Filed in Drake v. Bayer Healthcare LLC

In October, Schaerr | Jaffe attorneys filed an amicus brief for the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America in support of a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(f) petition for permission to appeal the class certification decision in Drake v. Bayer Healthcare, LLC, Ninth Circuit No. 24-5956.  […]

Supreme Court Amicus Brief Filed in Medical Marijuana, Inc. v. Horn

In July, attorneys from Schaerr | Jaffe filed a Supreme Court amicus brief in Medical Marijuana, Inc. v. Horn for the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America,  the Product Liability Advisory Council, and the American Tort Reform Association.  The brief argues that the private cause of action […]

Ryan Salame’s Petition for a Writ of Coram Nobis and Declaration

Schaerr | Jaffe Partner Presents Oral Argument in the Court of Appeals of Virginia

On August 20, 2024, Schaerr | Jaffe partner H. Christopher Bartolomucci presented oral argument on behalf of the Appellants in an appeal in the Court of Appeals of Virginia.  The case, Kozikowski, et al. v. Monroe Re, et al., concerns the interplay between Loudoun County’s Zoning Ordinance and Virginia’s Fair […]