Christopher W. Smith, Esq., Vice President
Christopher W. Smith, Esq., of Chalgian & Tripp Law Offices, PLLC, Southfield, Michigan, focuses his practice on special needs, elder law and traditional estate planning. He is licensed to practice law in Michigan.
Christopher’s interest in special needs law is grounded in personal experience. He has a sister with Down syndrome, and he remembers listening at the age of 10 to his attorney father address a conference on special needs law during the discipline’s infancy. “I grew up knowing the personal challenges faced by families with special needs and recognizing how legislators, regulators and advocates were struggling to serve them adequately. I wanted to help find solutions.”
Christopher was the chair of the Elder Law and Disability Rights Section of the State Bar of Michigan and still chairs its legislative committee. He also serves on the Michigan Attorney General’s Elder Abuse Task Force. In addition, he has volunteered time to the Elder Law and Advocacy Center at Wayne County Neighborhood Legal Services, as a guardianship reviewer for the Oakland County Michigan Probate Court and as a counselor for the Medicare Medicaid Assistance Program in Wayne, Michigan.
He has been named a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyer Magazine (Indiana edition: 2009-2010; Michigan edition: 2012-2017).
He frequently speaks and writes on aspects of special needs planning, such as special needs trusts, the ABLE Act, government benefits and guardianship. He places a particular focus on Medicare.
Christopher graduated from Indiana University Maurer School of Law (Magna Cum Laude, Order of the Coif), where he was managing editor of the Indiana Law Journal. Prior to law school, he majored in business and history at the University of Virginia and worked in finance for Procter & Gamble.