Michael Ray Smith
Lawyers, want to be a Justia Connect Pro too? Learn more ›
Harshman Ponist Smith & Rayl, LLC
I advise clients on various aspects of business law, including starting new businesses, buying and selling businesses, negotiating contracts, resolving disputes among business owners, and protecting the rights of businesses and their owners. I have considerable experience in forming and advising limited liability companies (LLCs). My practice also encompasses tax-exempt, nonprofit organizations, including 501(c)(3) entities. Additionally, I represent clients in both civil and criminal appeals.
I was born and raised in Tennessee, but I have spent most of my life as a Hoosier. I moved to Indiana in 1978 after graduating summa cum laude with a B.E. in chemical engineering from Vanderbilt University to work for Eli Lilly and Company in Lafayette, Indiana. During my time there, I also earned a Master of Science degree in chemical engineering from Purdue University. In 1989, while continuing to work full-time at Lilly, I enrolled in law school and earned a J.D. summa cum laude from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in 1993. I then transitioned to the Lilly Law Division, initially working in the Environmental Law Group, and later in Securities and Commercial Transactions. While in the Law Division, I organized and led the Lilly Law Division Pro Bono program. In 2008, I left Lilly to open a business law practice in Fishers, Indiana. In 2018, my partner, Susan Rayl, and I joined with other attorneys to form Harshman Ponist Smith & Rayl, LLC.
I have served as an adjunct professor at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis and frequently teach continuing education courses for lawyers, paralegals, and accountants. Since 2009, I have published the Indiana Business Law Blog.
My recreational interests include backpacking, fishing, kayaking, gardening with native plants, and woodworking with vintage hand tools.
- Business Law
- Business Contracts, Business Dissolution, Business Finance, Business Formation, Business Litigation, Franchising, Mergers & Acquisitions, Partnership & Shareholder Disputes
- Estate Planning
- Health Care Directives, Trusts, Wills
- Appeals & Appellate
- Civil Appeals
- Limited Liability Companies
- Nonprofit Organizations
-
Credit Cards Accepted
Visa, MasterCard, Discover -
Rates, Retainers and Additional Information
Payment plans may be available in appropriate situations.
- Indiana
-
- D.C. Circuit
-
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana
-
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana
-
- English: Spoken, Written
- Partner
- Harshman Ponist Smith & Rayl, LLC
- - Current
- Member
- Smith Rayl Law Office, LLC
- -
- Originally Michael Smith Law Office, LLC
- Adjunct Professor
- Indiana University School of Law -- Indianapolis
- -
- Taught Contract Drafting to law students
- Adjunct Professor
- Indiana University School of Law -- Indianapolis
- -
- Conducted the Nonprofit Externship Program for law students at the Community Development Law Center.
- Contract Attorney
- Community Development Law Center
- -
- Attorney/Counsel
- Eli Lilly and Company
- -
- 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.
- Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law
- J.D. (1993) | Law
- -
- Honors: summa cum laude
- Activities: Note Development Editor, Indiana Law Review
-
- Purdue University - Purdue University
- M.S. (1982) | Chemical Engineering
- -
- Activities: Research in the possible application of ion exchange technology in artificial kidneys.
-
- Vanderbilt University
- B.E. (1978) | Chemical Engineering
- -
- Honors: summa cum laude
-
- Heartland Pro Bono Award
- Heartland Pro Bono Council
- Indiana State Bar Association
- Member
- Current
-
- American Institute of Chemical Engineers
- Member
- Current
-
- Indianapolis Bar Association
- Member
- Current
-
- Indiana Business Law Blog
- Harshman Ponist Smith & Rayl, LLC
- 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
- Q. Options if home purchase and less than six mths later find there is mold, water damage, etc?
- A: I'm sure you were looking for something more helpful than this, but to get an answer to your question, your daughter needs to call an attorney, preferably one who handles a lot of residential real estate matters.
- Q. Can I place a construction lein on a nursing home in Indiana for worked preformed
- A: Maybe, depending on the facts. One particularly important fact is how long it has been since you worked on the project. For this type of construction, assuming the nursing home is privately owned (other rules apply if it is publicly owned), you have 90 days after the last day you provided labor on the project to record a notice of intent to hold a lien with the county recorder in the county in which the construction project is located.
The Indiana Mechanic's Lien statute also provides another remedy that may or may not be helpful, assuming you were not hired directly by the owner of the project but rather by a general contractor or subcontractor. You may be be able to send the owner ... Read More
- Q. One of my parent's will was rewritten in the last couple of years and heavily favors the executor and their family.
- A: Your suspicions may be well founded, but I don't think anyone can give you satisfactory answers to your questions in this forum. You should hire an attorney who handles estate planning and probate matters, lay out everything you know, and get the lawyer's advice on your chances of success if you challenge the validity of the will. Whether money well is spent on legal fees depends, in part, on how much the estate is worth and what your share might be. It makes no sense to spend, say, $20,000 in legal fees if the most you stand to inherit is $10,000. There may also be other, non-financial considerations to consider, such as the possibility of damaging family relationships in a will ... Read More
