About Jaynie Smith
Jaynie Smith Hoerauf built a steady legal practice rooted in Michigan courts and federal appellate filings. She earned her J.D. from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School in 1990 after completing undergraduate work in public speaking, interpersonal communication, history and education at Central Michigan University in 1978. Earlier college work at Mid Michigan Community College yielded an A.A. in 1976. Those academic milestones set a clear course. They led to work in private practice and, eventually, to the firm she runs today.
Her early legal career began in the early 1990s. In 1993 she joined Bicknell, Hughes & Winter, PC as an associate, learning the rhythms of client intake, motion practice and trial preparation under seasoned attorneys. Three years later she helped form Hughes & Hoerauf, PC, stepping into a lawyer role that included greater responsibility for case strategy and client management. In 2005 she established Jaynie Smith Hoerauf, PC, an office that carries her name and reflects decades of practice in state and federal matters.
Hoerauf is admitted to practice in Michigan and before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. That combination shapes the kind of matters she takes on. Admission to the Federal Circuit enables her to handle appeals that raise federal statutory and regulatory questions, while her Michigan practice addresses state-level litigation and counseling. Her background supports filings, brief writing and courtroom appearances in both arenas.
Colleagues describe her as practical and exacting in her approach to legal problems. She tends to take on cases that require detailed procedural work and careful appellate briefing. Over the years she has shifted roles from associate to partner to sole practitioner. Each step brought new administrative duties: managing a caseload, supervising support staff and, in her own firm, handling the business side of law practice as well as the legal work.
Outside the courtroom she draws on her undergraduate training in communication. Those skills come into play in oral arguments, client conferences and negotiations. Her law school education rounded out that foundation and supplied the doctrinal framework she still uses in litigation and appeals.
Today Jaynie Smith Hoerauf operates Jaynie Smith Hoerauf, PC, representing clients in Michigan courts and handling appeals before the Federal Circuit. Her practice emphasizes state litigation and federal appellate work.
