Today we’d like to introduce you to Gregory (Greg) Smith.
Hi Gregory (Greg), we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I got my bar results on my wedding day, October 15, 1988. I was so excited about getting married that I didn’t care if I passed the bar exam…at least not on my wedding day. Upon completing law school at the Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama, I started working for a small firm in Clarksville, Tennessee — just northwest of Nashville, but within the “Greater Nashville/Davidson County Area.” Due to having an active appellate practice, I was, and am, regularly at the Tennessee Supreme Court in downtown Nashville. In 1997, I was appointed as the first (and to date only) Municipal Judge for Pleasant View, Tennessee, a bedroom community which sits on Interstate 24, half-way between Clarksville and Nashville. I’ve been the judge for Pleasant View for over twenty-five years. During my time as a municipal judge, I’ve twice served as state president of the Tennessee Municipal Judges Conference (TMJC). In 2015 (and updated in 2018), TMJC and the Tennesssee Administrative Office of Courts hired me to write a judges’ benchbook for the state municipal judges. That book was cited with approval by the Harvard Law Review in 2020. In 2017, I was selected as the TMJC Municipal Judge of the Year for Tennessee. I’ve been a solo practice lawyer since 1993. A solo law practice offers more flexibility to pursue personal interests than working within a law firm allows. Early in my solo law practice, I was appointed by the Montgomery County, Tennessee Juvenile Court as Guardian <i>Ad Litem</i> for Tennessee’s first “ICWA” (Indian Child Welfare Act) case. The situation was tragic. Two Lakota tribal members from South Dakota were living in Clarksville due to the husband being stationed as a soldier at the Fort Campbell U.S. Army base, which touches Clarksville. Family members sent a three year old nephew to live with the soldier because Tennessee offered a better life for the child than found on the South Dakota reservation. The child pooped his pants and the enraged soldier killed the child. Both husband and wife were arrested and placed in the Montgomery County Jail. Four days later, the wife gave birth to a little girl — my client. My daughter was three months old when I brought the Lakota newborn into my home to wait until tribal representatives could travel from South Dakota to Clarksville to retrieve the baby. On one end of my house was a little girl that would enjoy most everything she needed or wanted for all of her childhood. On the other end of that house was a little girl in borrowed clothes, borrowed diapers, in a borrowed crib, and she would never hear a good night song from either parent. An interest in Federal Indian Law was sparked.
Today, I am on eight Native American Tribal Supreme Courts and the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Court of Indian Appeals. I teach Federal Indian Law for the Lincoln Memorial University School of Law. I am Chief Justice or Chief Judge on several of the tribal appellate courts. In 2024, I was asked by the United Nations at Geneva, Switzerland to make recommedations for providing justice to Indigenous populations throughout the world. While the 2024 recommendations were written, I have previously presented in person at the United Nations in New York. Blessings from God and others have given me the chance to succeed and to also a pathway to help others hoping to expand their horizons.
During college at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), I was awarded a work scholarship. I promised then that I would help other young people in their quest for a college education. I’ve worked with young people seeking college scholarships on a <i>pro bono</i> basis for over thirty years. I usually work with about 5-7 students at a time; with about 2 starting late in their high school sophomore year, two completing high school, and then several in college. I stopped keeping up with the money total about a decade ago, but then the total was over 3 million dollars in scholarship money. I’ve had “<b><i>My Kids</i></b>” attend West Point, the U.S. Air Force Academy, and Vanderbilt. Currently, I have <b><i>My Kids</i></b> at Vanderbilt, Trevecca, MTSU, Samford University, Villanova (in PA), and Tennessee Tech. All are on full ride or near full ride scholarships. The Vanderbilt student is a starting linebacker for the Vandy football team.
While I have degrees and graduate certifications from colleges all over the country, including Harvard (<i>but I’m mostly over that now</i>), I tell people I attended MTSU. In a note of irony, two of my colleges faced off against each other in football this season when MTSU played the University of Nevada – Reno, which houses the National Judicial College (NJC). I have multiple judicial certifications from the NJC and I teach Evidence and Ethics classes for the NJC. In 2023, the NJC and the Ukraine Legislature asked me and eight other judges across the U.S. to make recommendations to the country of Ukraine on how to set up their judicial system after they finish their war with Russia. Three judges each took areas of the court system — small claims, general jurisdiction, and appeals. I worked on small claims. It was both humbling and scary to think a whole country would work their judiciary framework around suggestions made by a kid from Tennessee.
I won’t bore you with a detailed regurgitation of my resume. I’m in Mid-South Super Lawyers, <u>Who’s Who In American Law</u>, and the Tennessee Bar Foundation (the Hall of Fame for Tennessee Lawyers). The strongest thing on my resume is that I am Cindy’s (my wife) personal chauffeur. I married so far “out of my league” that I almost left species. As I said at the beginning of this response, marrying Cindy Luckett outweighed passing the bar exam. If given the same choice today, my response would be the same. Faith and family are always more important than job…<b><i><u>any job</u></i></b>!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Nobody’s life road is smooth. Challenges, and how we respond, determine who we are. Paraphrasing William Arthur Ward, everybody has the ability to bring joy to a room — some when they enter, some when they leave. My personal philosophy is <b>HAVE FUN and BE FUN</b>. Pessimists don’t inspire. There are plenty of bad things occurring in the world today. Hope doesn’t negate the bad, but it cushions us when we fall. One of my favorite songs is “Let There Be Peace On Earth.” The lyrics go, “<i>Let there be peace on Earth, and let it begin with me</i>…” It is odd that I’d like that song because the first time I ever sang it in public, at a choir concert in high school as a 9th grader, I threw up in front of about 1500 people. I was singing with the senior choir and it was the last song of the show. I almost reached the front row of the audience with puke. The next day at school, choir was the first period. As I drug myself into the classroom, Jeff Bunch, the Senior Class President, yelled “<i>Blew Hash!!!!!</i>” Jeff put his arm around me and said, “<i>Gross!!!! Don’t do that again</i>.” Then he looked at the rest of the class and said, “<i>Okay we’re done. Leave him alone</i>.” They did. I still remember, and appreciate, that brave act of leadership and mercy. It colors my actions both on and off the bench. I prefer brightening the room by entering. Put another way, to quote my wife, “<i style=”font-weight: bold;”>Get over yourself and stay over yourself!</i>”
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
In 1999, a F-4 tornado swept through downtown Clarksville and eliminated the courthouse and “Lawyers Row.” Since my office was a bit off of town square, it was spared. The other 150 +/- attorneys in Clarksville weren’t so lucky. At the “regroup” meeting, I stood up and told my fellow bar members that my office wasn’t fancy, but it was standing, so anybody who needed to research or meet with clients could share or use it. About thirty-five took me up on the offer. We juggled times and made the process work for several months until other offices were found for most. Some version of this office shuffle lasted about two years. That tragic event led to a brand new courthouse in Clarksville and my being anonymously nominated (and selected) the Tennessee Bar Association’s <i>Pro Bono</i> Attorney of the Year for 2001. To this day, I still do not known who submitted my name for this honor. I guess I never will. I also had an ABA Journal feature done on my practice in 2021. I was the first Clarksville attorney featured in this national magazine since Horace H. Lurton in 1910, when Lurton was confirmed for a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. I do not think my actions are extraordinary. Harry Truman once said, “<i>It is amazing how much can get accomplished as long as you don’t care who gets the credit</i>.” What do I specialize in? People! Simply put, the job doesn’t pay enough to be a jerk.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I listen to the K-Love radio station in Nashville and I get their “Verse of the Day” in my email every day. As for apps, much to my wife’s disappointment, I love Bubble Shooter. I also have several airline apps, the Lexis app (for legal research), and of course the g<u>oblueraiders.com</u> app. Favorite books are the <u>Bible</u> and presidential history books. I have, <i>and have read</i>, the entire <u>The American Presidents</u> series of books. It is about four feet worth of books. The most recent book I read is a history of World War I from the viewpoint of regular British citizens, both for and against the war. The overlap of their strife with that transpiring in America today, especially where a viewpoint can lead to prison or even death, can make one gasp! Remember, one needs to <i><b>catch</b></i> their breath before <i><b>holding</b></i> their breath! A trip to TPAC, the Grand Ole Opry, or a Preds game is a breath of fresh <i>Nashville</i> air. Downtown Nashville is the best local resource for forgetting the troubles of the world. There is always something fun going on in and around Nashville! <i>Thank you Music City</i>!
Pricing:
- No job is worth losing your family. The cost is way too high.
- Intergrity. No funding amount is worth losing your good name.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.gsmithlawfirm.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GregSmithesq
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregory-smith-006337162/
- Twitter: https://x.com/GregSmithesq
