Smith earned his bachelor's degree in 1966 from the University of Oklahoma and received his juris doctorate in 1969 from the OU College of Law, where he focused on oil and gas law.
Smith was appointed to the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board, a state board that conducts environmental restoration of orphaned and abandoned well sites, encourages the wise and efficient use of energy, and promotes energy education, and was, in 1994, elected that Board's Secretary.