LSA is proud to announce Jim Smith has been acknowledged by the Alabama State Bar with the new Public Interest Attorney award.

James O. Smith, Montgomery, AL – Jim Smith has spent his career expanding access to justice and assisting those often forgotten by the legal community.  Jim started his career in 1978 as a staff attorney in the Selma office of Legal Services Corporation of Alabama where he represented client with wide ranging legal issues, from voting rights, to domestic violence to consumer issues. From Selma Jim moved to the Opelika office and in 1989 moved to the Montgomery Region office where he was named the Managing Attorney in 1992.  During these years Jim maintained a full case load including appellate work, domestic violence and sexual assault cases.  In 2005 Jim was named the Domestic Violence/Family Law Director of Advocacy for Legal Services Alabama. In 2010 Jim became the first attorney hosed at One Place Family Justice Center a safe place for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, child and elder abuse to find help.  Jim is currently, and for the foreseeable future, the longest serving advocate of a legal assistance program in Alabama.  Through the years Jim has provided assistance to thousands of Alabamians who had nowhere else to turn.  He is a relentless advocate for his clients and for the domestic violence community, seeking resources and recognition to this problem most would rather ignore. He has also served as a mentor to hundreds of attorneys around the state.  In his role as advocate, supervisor, instructor, manager and friend Jim provides an unwavering example of service, to his clients, his community and to the Bar.