Tara L. Smith

Email MeTara L. Smith

Chief Operating Officer
Location:
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Phone:
612-326-3453
888-340-9311 (Toll Free)
Fax:
612-340-1154
Email:
Email Me

Year Joined Firm

  • 2008

Areas of Practice

  • Chief Operating Officer

Bar Admissions

  • Minnesota, 2009

Education

  • William Mitchell College of Law, St Paul, Minnesota
    • Juris Doctor - 2009
    • Honors: Minnesota Justice Foundation/Achievement in Volunteer Public Service
  • University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
    • Bachelor of Arts - 2006
    • Honors: Summa Cum Laude
    • Major: English Honors
  • Normandale Community College, Bloomington, Minnesota
    • Associate of Arts - 2003
    • Honors: Highest Honors; Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society

Published Works

  • Cooperative or Collaborative Practice Models: Using ADR to Meet Clients' Needs for Unbundling, Family Advocate (American Bar Association Section of Family Law), Vol. 35, No. 2, Fall, 2012
  • Cooperative Practice: The Flexible ADR Framework, co-authored with Lisa J. Kallemeyn, Esq., Family Law Forum (A Publication of the Minnesota State Bar Association Family Law Section),, Vol. 19, No. 3, Spring/Summer, 2011
  • She Is Strong, She Is Invincible, and She Outearns Him: Husbands Seeking Spousal Maintenance in the Modern Era, Family Law Forum, Vol. 18, No. 3, Summer, 2010

Classes/Seminars

  • The Nuts and Bolts of Cooperative Practice, co-presented with Terryl Johnson, CDFA and Becca Wong, Esq., Cooperative Practice Network of Minnesota, April 17, 2013
  • Cooperative Practice: The Flexible ADR Framework, co-presented with Lisa J. Kallemeyn, Esq. and R. Leigh Frost, Esq., Minnesota CLE Webcast, November 20, 2012
  • Cooperative Practice: The Flexible ADR Framework, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) - Minnesota Chapter, November 2, 2012
  • Introduction to Family Law - Law and the Legal Process Course, Metro State University, October 11, 2012
  • Cooperative Practice: The Flexible ADR Framework, Minnesota State Bar Association, Family Law Section, October 8, 2011
  • Cooperative Practice: The Flexible ADR Framework, co-presented with Lisa J. Kallemeyn, Esq., Ramsey County Bar Association, September 30, 2011
  • She is Strong, She is Invincible, and She Outearns Him, Ramsey County Bar Association, December 22, 2010
  • Participation Agreements and Informed Consent: How to Get Your Cooperative Agreement in Writing, Cooperative Practice Network of Minnesota, December 1, 2010

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • Association of Legal Administrators, Verdict Newsletter Editor (2014-2015), Member, 2014 - Present
  • Legal Marketing Association, 2015 - Present
  • Society for Human Resource Managment, Member, 2014 - Present
  • Minnesota Women Lawyers, Member, 2010 - Present
  • Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, Member, 2010 - Present
  • Cooperative Practice Network of Minnesota, Executive Committee Chair (2009-2014), Founding Member, 2009 - Present
  • American Bar Association, Member, 2009 - Present
  • Minnesota State Bar Association, Member, 2009 - Present
  • Hennepin County Bar Association, Member, 2009 - Present
  • Ramsey County Bar Association, Member, 2009 - Present

Past Employment Positions

  • Walling, Berg & Debele, P.A., Minneapolis, Minnesota, Firm Administrator, 2014 - 2015
  • Walling, Berg & Debele, P.A., Minneapolis, Minnesota, Associate Family Law Attorney, November 2009 - December 2013
  • Walling, Berg & Debele, P.A., Minneapolis, Minnesota, Law Clerk to Nancy Zalusky Berg, March 2009 - October 2009
  • Stewart D. Walker, Inc., Saint Paul, Minnesota, Office Manager and Manufacturers' Representative, January 1997 - May 2009
  • Law Office of Thomas T. Inkelaar, LLC, Omaha, Nebraska, Law Clerk, May 2008 - August 2008
  • Walling, Berg & Debele, P.A., Minneapolis, Minnesota, Legal Intern to Nancy Zalusky Berg, January 2008 - April 2008

Pro Bono Activities

  • Guardian ad Litem, Second Judicial District, Ramsey County, Minnesota, 2007 - 2008