Attorney Profile

Terrence A Smith represents a number of departments and advisory boards, including the Public Housing & Community Development Department and the Community Action & Human Services Department. Terrence serves as legal counsel to the Miami-Dade Economic Advocacy Trust, the HIV/AIDS Partnership, the Miami-Dade Commission on Human Rights as well as other County departments, advisory boards and community redevelopment agencies. The primary focus of Terrence’s practice area includes public housing, Section 8, moderate rehabilitation, affordable housing, economic development, community redevelopment agencies, civil rights, and litigation.

As a transactional attorney, Terrence has handled a number of affordable housing transactions, including the recent real estate transaction related to the Scott-Carver HOPE VI Project, which is a mixed-finance affordable housing project that is being constructed to replace the former James E. Scott Homes and Carver Homes public housing developments.  As a litigator, Mr. Smith has represented the County in three class action lawsuits and other lawsuits, including a civil rights class action brought by the former residents of James E. Scott Homes, who sued to stop the HOPE VI project from moving forward.  Terrence successfully represented the County in that lawsuit.  In addition, Terrence also successfully represented the County in another case in which the plaintiff challenged the constitutionality of the County’s Human Rights Ordinance.

Prior to joining the County Attorney’s Office, Terrence was an Assistant Attorney General with the Florida Attorney General’s Office of Civil Rights and also an attorney with Legal Services of Greater Miami, Inc. where he served as the Director of the AIDS Legal Advocacy Project.

Terrence has been a coordinator, speaker and moderator of several conferences related to the Fair Housing Act and other civil rights laws.