Graham Smith joined Bird & Bird in 1983 and became a partner in 1985. His practice encompasses advisory and contentious work in the internet, IT, and intellectual property fields.

He has handled a variety of disputes in the IT sector, ranging from IT project litigation to software copyright disputes. In 1995 he wrote, for Computer Law & Practice, the first published article in the UK examining damages awards in computer project disputes. His section of the Encyclopedia of Information Technology Law (Sweet & Maxwell) contains a detailed examination of non-contractual liability in the IT field, including negligence liability of suppliers and consultants.

He is one of the UK’s leading cyberlaw experts. He edits and co-authors the book Internet Law and Regulation (Sweet & Maxwell), which first appeared in 1996 and is now in its 4th edition. Reviewers have said: “reads and feels like the Bible on Internet law”, “the definitive English law textbook on e-commerce” and “a carefully sculpted work of art”. His practice includes in particular advising e-commerce actors on liability, including copyright, defamation and cross-border issues. He advised the States of Guernsey on the preparation of their electronic transactions legislation; and advised Yahoo! and the UK Internet Services Providers Association (ISPA) in their successful campaign to persuade the Home Office to include a hosting defence in the Religious and Racial Hatred Act 2006.  This work was Commended in Financial Times Innovative Lawyers 2008. 

Cases in which he has acted include: Burnet v Francis Industries plc [1987] 1 W.L.R. 802 C.A., Chatterbox (UK) Ltd & others v British Telecommunications plc (The Independent, 1 March 1989), Philips Electronique Grand Public S.A. and others v British Satellite Broadcasting Ltd and others [1995] EMLR 472 C.A., Korda v ITF Ltd (The Independent, 21 April 1999) C.A., BCT Software Solutions Ltd v Jones & others [2002] 12 E.I.P.R. N-196, BCT Software Solutions Ltd v C Brewer & Sons Ltd [2004] FSR 9, C.A., QR Sciences Ltd v BTG International Ltd [2005] All ER (D) 196 (Apr), [2005] All ER (D) 116 (Aug). In IT project disputes he has acted primarily for customers against various suppliers, including disputes over complex database and ERP implementations.

He is a member of the Advisory Board of BNA's Electronic Commerce & Law Report and the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Law and Information Technology.  He is rated by Chambers UK Directory as a Leading Individual for Information Technology and by PLC Which Lawyer? Yearbook as a Recommended Lawyer for TMT: Technology.