8
CityLight.org
march 2012
J
ames is a 44-year-old Columbia na-
tive, married to Kirkland T. Smith
of Mt. Pleasant, SC. They have three
sons, James "Emerson" Smith III, age
18, Thomas Bridges Smith,age 15, Paul
Bradford Smithage 10, and a daughter
Shannon Elizabeth Smith age 9.
James attended the University of
1995. In November of 1996, James be-
gan a solo practice and currently is the
sole shareholder of his four attorney
firm, JAMES E. SMITH, JR., P.A. In
1997, he was awarded the Outstand-
ing Young Alumni Award from the
University of South Carolina, in 2010
he was awarded the Distinguished
Service Award from the University of
South Carolina and obtained a Bache-
lor of Arts in Political Science in 1990,
and then went on to obtain his Juris
Doctor in 1995. After being admitted
to the Bars of South Carolina, North
Carolina and Georgia, James began his
legal career as an Associate at the firm
of NELSON, MULLINS, RILEY
& SCARBOROUGH in September
South Carolina College of Arts and
Sciences and in 1999 he was named
the South Carolina Bar's Young Law-
yer of the Year. In his first ten years of
practice, James was rated by his peers
through Martindale-Hubble as "AV,"
the highest awarded.
James is also President and CEO
R
ep
. J
ames
s
mith
, J
R
.
Military Child Education Coalition