Attorney Profile
Erik L. Smith - Attorney at Law
Education
University of Dayton School of Law -- University of Dayton (J.D. 2012)
Bachelor's degree in Psychology from California State University Bakersfield, a master's degree in Human Factors Psychology from the University of South Dakota, and a degree in Swedish Language from the University of Uppsala (Kursverksamheten 1982.)
Mr. Smith has worked as a Swedish language translator, foreign book reporter, and as a guest researcher for the Swedish government.
Before becoming an attorney, Mr. Smith worked as an independent paralegal and legal researcher for family law, adoption, juvenile law, appellate, and personal injury attorneys. He has also appeared on NPR, CNN, and PBS regarding adoption law and has published several of his articles on the internet and in hard copy publications such as Ohio Lawyer, Air Force Law Review, Adoption Today, and Midwifery Today.
Publications and Media Interviews of Erik Smith
Jurisdiction in Contested Adoptions. 21 Probate Law Journal of Ohio 1 (Sep/Oct 2010).
Broken Dreams and Nightmares: County Agency Child Support in Disrupted Adoptions. (With Susan Eisenman) American Academy of Adoption Attorneys Newsletter. (Winter 2009)
Putative Father Registry Deadlines and the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. 60 Air Force Law Review 175. (2007).
Basics of the Ohio Putative Father Registry. 19 Ohio Lawyer 6 (March/April 2005).
What Birthfathers Don’t Know Hurts Everyone. Adoption Today. June/July 2005. Reprinted in Social Issues Firsthand: Adoption. Greenhaven Press 2005. Haugen & Box, Eds.
Midwifery and the Constitution, Midwifery Today. Issue 65 Spring 2003
Understanding the Legal System. From Calling to Courtroom. 68 pp. Midwivestrial, June 2004. (also on the internet at http://www.fromcallingtocourtroom.net)
Paralegal Debunks Response to Safe Haven Report, Bastard Quarterly, Vol. 6, Issue 1:Fall 2003
Internet
The Myth of the Right to Privacy as Justifying Birth Parent Anonymity in Adoption Surrenders. Bastard Nation: The Adoptee Rights Organization. April 2012. www.bastards.org. (Pending)
Basics of the Virginia Putative Father Registry. (2007) http://fatherhood.about.com/od/virginia/a/Virgina_PFR.htm
Midwifery and State Law Desk Reference. Waiver of Appellate Review. From Calling to Courtroom. Appendices I -II at http://www.fromcallingtocourtroom.net. June 2004. 46 pp. Response to “The Need for State Birth Father Registries.” adoption.about.com. Apr. 16, 2004.
Unwed Fathers: Preventing your infant child from being adopted without your consent. http://adoption.com April 2004. Case Report—Ohio. http://adoption.about.com. April 2004.
Rebuttal: Safe Haven Laws Seriously Flawed. August 30, 2003, Adoption Guide http://adoption.about.com
National Directory of Putative Father Registries, July 11, 2003, Originally published on the Adoption Guide http://adoption.about.com
The Ohio Putative Father Registry—The What? July 2, 2003, Originally published on the Adoption Guide http://adoption.about.com
INTERVIEWS
Television
PBS: To the Contrary Unwed Fathers' Rights June 17, 2006
CNN: Anderson Cooper Biological Fathers and Adoption March 20, 2006
Radio/Podcast
Woon Radio (RI) [Utah Adoption cases] April 4, 2012
NPR: The Takeaway Should the Father Have a Say August 23, 2010
NPR: Talk of the Nation Fathers Fight for Paternal Rights March 27, 2006
WSAR (Fall River, Ma.) Speaking of Adoption January 30, 2007
The Adoption Show Where are the Dads? January 21, 2007
Newspapers/Blogs
Milwaukee News Buzz. Rachael Nachtwey. The answer for abandoned babies? http://www.milwaukeenewsbuzz.com/?p=252804. September 16, 2010.
Salt Lake City Weekly Some Call it Kidnapping July 28, 2010
Columbus Dispatch Adoption Rulings August 8, 2010
New York Times Unwed Fathers Fight for Babies March 19, 2006
Cleveland Plain Dealer Dads: How to protect your rights. February. 27, 2006
Interview with Erik Smith: Safe Haven Laws are Irresponsible, Wrong, Ineffective, and Unconstitutional. The Daily Bastardette. June 30, 2005. http://bastardette.blogspot.com/
PRESENTATIONS
American Adoption Congress Truth in Adoption March 7, 2007
Annual Conference 2007 Boston, MA
MISCELLANEOUS
Waves. Poetry Super Highway. http://www.poetrysuperhighway.com/ppotw.html Feb. 8, 2004
An Analysis of Driver Steering Patterns in a Simulator and in an Instrumented car: A Validation Study, 1987. (Master’s Thesis) 100 pp.
Human Engineering Concerns in Interior Ambulance Design in Sweden and the U.S., follow-up to Human Engineering Concerns in Interior Ambulance Design (above, unpublished, 1987)
Human Engineering Concerns in Interior Ambulance Design, Proceedings of the Human Factors Society, Dayton, Ohio, 1986.
Smith, E. and Laurell, H. Driving Simulator Validity as a Function of Steering Dynamics and Task Demands, Proceedings of the Human Factors Assoc. of Canada, Montreal, Canada, 1987.
The Seventh Service Game; Humor in Foreign Language Teaching, Paper presented at the Conference for Humor in Education, Black Hills State University, Spearfish, South Dakota, 1988.