Most of our practice involves representing the victims of personal injury. Our remaining practice is divided between defending Lake Tahoe ski areas and representing small businesses and churches in litigation matters. We appear in all California courts on behalf of clients.

McKINLEY & SMITH is experienced in significant and complex cases involving serious burn injury, electrical injuries, spinal injuries, brain injuries, wrongful death, paralysis, broken limbs, disfigurement, severe emotional distress, and permanent disability. We represent victims of automobile and motorcycle accidents (collisions), semi-truck collisions, construction site injuries, fires, power line contacts, and toxic exposure.

McKINLEY & SMITH has special experience in representing children who are seriously injured. We assist clients in fighting misconduct by insurance carriers. We occasionally take on cases involving civil rights issues. We have represented clients injured by professional malpractice, including attorney, real estate and insurance broker malpractice. We have litigated especially large cases (involving catastrophic injuries) against PG&E, various public agencies, against a tour bus company, and against construction and trucking companies.

McKINLEY & SMITH retains top experts in the fields of medicine, engineering, accounting and various scientific specialties in order to evaluate and present claims involving serious personal injury.

McKINLEY & SMITH represents clients before all California courts of appeal, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal, and the California Supreme Court. Timothy M. Smith is licensed to practice before the United States Supreme Court.

McKINLEY & SMITH is passionate about who we represent and what we do. We enjoy helping people by seeking justice. We try to live by Micah 6:8: to love mercy and to humbly pursue justice. We are actively involved in an international society of Christian attorneys and judges, known as the Christian Legal Society (CLS). The motto of CLS is "Doing Justice with the Love of God." Timothy M. Smith is an active member of the Capital City Trial Lawyers Association and a member of the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association.