Melania Smith

Melania graduated Cum Laude from South Texas College of Law Houston after completing her law degree while working full time as an accountant. Her law degree has complemented her Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from the University of Houston C.T. Bauer College of Business, from which she also graduated as Magna Cum Laude.

Prior to her legal career, she worked in industry for almost a decade for Fortune 100 and Fortune 300 publicly traded companies as an accountant in the tax area and provides a unique tax perspective on many business tax issues. Her prior industry experience includes oil and gas as well as the automotive retail industry. While in college, she did her internship as a tax analyst for ExxonMobil where she developed a strong interest in tax while working on some of the largest and most complex tax returns in the US. Fresh out of college, she then progressed to work for ExxonMobil as a tax analyst after which she transitioned to associate tax manager for Group 1 Automotive, one of the largest US Automotive retailers. While working at the corporate headquarters, she attended law school part time. Melania loves a challenge and has a proven track record of rising to meet it, as such she has the capacity to handle complex tax concepts.

Although originally a Texan, she grew up overseas in Singapore and Dubai, UAE, and speaks Spanish fluently, giving her an ability to relate to people from across the globe. Due to her Mexican heritage, in 2014 she was also selected by the Mexican government to be the Queen of the National Floral Games in the Southeast of Mexico as a youth representative of the Spanish heritage and culture of the region.

She is currently a member of the Mexican American Bar Association in Houston as well as the Tax Section of the Texas State Bar.

She also has a passion for music and ballroom dancesport. Melania is also certified by the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing as a ballroom dance instructor. Also with honors as "Highly Commended.”