Clara R. Smit, Esq. is an attorney in East Brunswick, New Jersey who is dedicated to serving the needs of all individuals whom have been discriminated against, particularly the profoundly Deaf who communicate in ASL.

She has been involved in the deaf community and interpreting profession for most of her life. Her parents were Deaf and communicated primarily through American Sign Language. Eighty percent of Ms. Smit’s clientele is profoundly Deaf and communicate through sign language. Ms. Smit is also fluent in sign language and was a certified interpreter for twelve years. 

Ms. Smit  concentrates primarily on discrimination cases and making change through legal intervention. Ms. Smit is the first and longest practicing attorney working in this field in New Jersey and is one of the few across the nation working to protect the rights of the Deaf. Her focus is communication access and the provision of sign language interpreters to ensure effective communication.

Ms. Smit has been practicing for twenty eight years in New Jersey, Florida and New York and has won many victories. Her cases have resulted in ground breaking consent judgments and agreements, and legal precedents which involve significant policy changes in hospitals, doctor’s offices, courts, prisons, employment settings, and police departments among many other entities.

Education

Seton Hall University
Juris Doctor, 1990

Rutgers University
B.A., English & Special Education, 1980

    Bar Admissions

• New Jersey
• United States District Court,
  District of New Jersey
• United States Court of Appeals
  for the Third Circuit
• United States Supreme Court