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Overview
Josh joined Tonkon Torp in 2018 as a partner and a member of the firm's Entrepreneurial Services, Intellectual Property, Corporate Finance & Transactions, and Mergers & Acquisitions practice groups. His practice is focused on representing and counseling emerging and established companies on a wide variety of intellectual property, corporate, and transactional matters. He counsels clients on venture capital and angel financings, mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances and joint ventures, technology licensing, commercial agreements, and general business matters – primarily in the technology industry.
Prior to joining Tonkon Torp, Josh was the managing partner of Alto Law Group, a boutique law firm focused on technology and emerging growth companies. He is actively engaged in Oregon’s startup community and a member of the Technology Association of Oregon and Oregon Entrepreneurs Network. He has been an Adjunct Professor of Law at University of Portland and Lewis & Clark Law School since 2008 and currently teaches a course called “Entrepreneurship and the Law.”
Josh is an avid fan of the Oregon Ducks and the Portland Trail Blazers. In his spare time, Josh enjoys travelling and spending time with his wife and children.
Prior to joining Tonkon Torp, Josh was the managing partner of Alto Law Group, a boutique law firm focused on technology and emerging growth companies. He is actively engaged in Oregon’s startup community and a member of the Technology Association of Oregon and Oregon Entrepreneurs Network. He has been an Adjunct Professor of Law at University of Portland and Lewis & Clark Law School since 2008 and currently teaches a course called “Entrepreneurship and the Law.”
Josh is an avid fan of the Oregon Ducks and the Portland Trail Blazers. In his spare time, Josh enjoys travelling and spending time with his wife and children.
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Get To Know
As a teenager in the mid-1980s, attorney Josh Smith fell under the spell of the 1986 action blockbuster Top Gun, set in the world of combat aviation. With that as his motivation, Josh obtained an appointment to the Air Force Academy after high school and went on to attend pilot training in Arizona, learning to fly in the T-37 and T-38. When it came time for plane assignments, however, the Air Force didn’t need fighter pilots so Josh spent his time in the Air Force flying large cargo planes, including the C-141 and C-17. During his deployments, Josh traveled to over 50 countries on all seven continents, and he specialized in tactical airlift missions that included low-level flying, airdrops of troops and equipment, and mid-air refueling. Because of his focus on combat missions, Josh and his crew were selected to participate in several sessions of Exercise Red Flag, a two-week advanced aerial combat training exercise held by the Air Force in Las Vegas several times a year.
When Josh’s commitment to the Air Force ended, he wasn’t quite ready to give up his wings and went on to work for United Airlines for a year and half, flying as a flight engineer on the 727 and as First Officer on the 737. After the tragedy of 9/11 drastically contracted the airline industry, Josh enrolled in Lewis & Clark Law School. As he pursued his law degree and began building his thriving entrepreneurial services practice, Josh remained as a pilot in the Air Force Reserves and retired after a total of 20 years of service.
Josh has found that the rigorous training, discipline, and adherence to regulations required of pilots served him well, first in law school and now in his legal career. In his free time, he continues to pursue his passion for flight, renting small planes to take friends and family flying and introducing the world of aviation to his kids.
When Josh’s commitment to the Air Force ended, he wasn’t quite ready to give up his wings and went on to work for United Airlines for a year and half, flying as a flight engineer on the 727 and as First Officer on the 737. After the tragedy of 9/11 drastically contracted the airline industry, Josh enrolled in Lewis & Clark Law School. As he pursued his law degree and began building his thriving entrepreneurial services practice, Josh remained as a pilot in the Air Force Reserves and retired after a total of 20 years of service.
Josh has found that the rigorous training, discipline, and adherence to regulations required of pilots served him well, first in law school and now in his legal career. In his free time, he continues to pursue his passion for flight, renting small planes to take friends and family flying and introducing the world of aviation to his kids.
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Featured Work
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Community Involvement & Activities
Lewis & Clark Law School Center for Business Law & Innovation
Board of Directors
Board of Directors
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Professional Memberships
Multnomah Bar Association
Oregon Entrepreneurs Network
Technology Association of Oregon
Oregon Entrepreneurs Network
Technology Association of Oregon
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Awards & Recognition
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Recent News
11.26.2018
Tonkon Torp Welcomes Attorney Josh Smith as it Absorbs Alto Law Group
Tonkon Torp welcomes Alto Law Group's Josh Smith to the firm, where he will be practicing in the Entrepreneurial Services, Intellectual Property, and Mergers & Acquisitions practice groups. Smith is joining the firm as a partner as Tonkon Torp…