Jim Smith

Jim Smith

Jim Smith has practiced law in Arkansas for over three decades with his practice principally focused on advising companies, executives and entrepreneurs regarding a full range of business advisory and transactional law matters, with a particular emphasis on mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital fund structure, formation and operation (including management, investments, investor relations and related matters), corporate governance and finance (including capital raises and securities law matters), strategic initiatives, compliance with regulatory obligations, executive compensation and compensatory plans and business and go-to market contractual matters. He also routinely advises Boards of Directors and controlling shareholders with respect to fiduciary duty matters and shareholder activism. A meaningful part of his practice is also devoted to the representation of private equity investors, venture capital firms, family offices and high net worth individuals in the consideration and making of investments in business enterprises.  Jim is also an early stage investor in private companies located throughout the United States.

Jim is a founding partner of Smith Hurst, PLC. Smith Hurst, PLC was recognized as Start Up Business of  the Year by the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas Chamber of Commerce in 2012 and as Small Business of the Year in 2014.  It is a Tier 1 rated Law Firm in Arkansas in the fields of Corporate Law, Tax Law and Trusts and Estates by the Best Law Firms in America and Chambers and Partners USA

Mid-South Super Lawyers has repeatedly named Jim one of the top fifty lawyers in Arkansas. In the inaugural edition of The Arkansas 200, published by Arkansas Business, he was recognized among Arkansas’s top influencers, and has subsequently been honored in The Arkansas 250. In 2023 and 2024, Jim was recognized in the Arkansas Money & Politics list of Top 100 Professionals in Arkansas and a member of the Legal Elite.  He has also been recognized by Chambers & Partners USA as a top lawyer in Corporate Commercial and Corporate Taxation law.  Jim is currently recognized by Best Lawyers in America as the Lawyer of the Year in the Northwest Arkansas region for Mergers and Acquisitions Law and has previously been honored as Lawyer of the Year in the fields of Corporate Law and Tax Law.  Since 2007, Jim has been recognized by  Best Lawyers in America as a leading lawyer in Arkansas in the fields of Banking and Finance Law, Corporate Law, Corporate Governance Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Real Estate Law, Securities and Capital Markets Law, Securitization and Structured Finance Law, and Tax Law. 

Jim’s practice experience is extensive and spans the full range of business advisory and transactional law. He routinely counsels companies across diverse industries in a myriad of business matters including capital raising, advising Boards of Directors, senior management, executives and controlling shareholders regarding governance and fiduciary duty matters, compliance with regulatory obligations, ordinary course of business contracts, executive compensation and compensatory plans, financial and lending matters (including private placement of securities), venture capital, private equity and commercial lending matters, taxation, mergers and acquisitions and real estate related matters.

From August of 2020 through August of 2022, Jim worked in the C-Suite of Good Day Farm, LLC, a medical marijuana multi-state operator initially serving as chief general legal counsel and director of mergers and acquisitions and concluding his tenure as President of Business. During his tenure at Good Day Farm, the company grew from its initial, prefunded concept stage start-up company to successfully raising and deploying in excess of $350 million and employing over 1,000 employees in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Missouri.  Good Day Farm is currently the leading medical marijuana owner and operator of fully vertically integrated cultivation and dispensary facilities in each of these states.

Jim obtained his Masters of Law in Taxation degree (LL.M.) from New York University School of Law and graduated with honors from the University of Arkansas School of Law where he was a member of the Arkansas Law Review.  He is also a licensed Certified Public Accountant (registered inactive) and a graduate of VC University, a joint initiative of the National Venture Capital Association, Berkeley Law Executive Education, and Venture Forward. Jim currently serves in his second term as a Commissioner on the Arkansas Economic Development Commission and as a member of the Board of Trustees of Arkansas Tech University, where he served as Chairman in 2023.  Additionally, for over 20 years, Jim has served on the Executive Committee of the University of Arkansas Technology Development Foundation which is responsible for managing and operating the Arkansas Research and Technology Park. He is also a  member of the Board of Directors of Priority Bank headquartered in Fayetteville, Arkansas. 

Jim has served on the Executive Committee of and as the co-chairman of the Arkansas Venture Capital Forum and as the chairman of the Tax Section of the Arkansas Bar Association and is a former Chairman and Member of the Board of Directors of Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce.  For over twenty years, Jim has served as an adjunct professor of law at the University of Arkansas School of Law where he currently teaches the Law of Private Equity Investing and has previously taught courses in the fields of Mergers and Acquisitions, Securities Regulation and Corporate Practice Ethics. An avid enthusiast and supporter of live music, Jim is also a member of the Board of Directors of The House of Songs, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation based in Bentonville, Arkansas and Austin, Texas which has the mission of uniting musicians from around the world.

Jim has been recognized by the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal as part of its C-Suite Honors, an award given to the top business executives in the region, was named to the Arkansas Business 40 Under Forty list and the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal 40 Under Forty list.  In 2001, Jim was inducted into the Arkansas Tech University Hall of Distinction.

Education

New York University School of Law

  • Masters of Law (LL.M.) in Taxation (1995)

University of Arkansas School of Law

  • Juris Doctorate, Cum Laude (1994)
  • Arkansas Law Review , Member

  • Arkansas Tech University

    • Bachelor of Science, Accounting, Cum Laude (1991)
    • Recipient of 1991 Wall Street Journal Award as the Top Student in the School of Business
    • Member, 1988 AIC Champion Baseball Team
    • Licensed Certified Public Accountant (Registered Inactive)

    Honors and Recognitions

    Best Lawyers in America

    Selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers for:

    • Tax Law
    • Corporate Law
    • Corporate Governance Law
    • Mergers and Acquisitions Law
    • Banking and Finance Law
    • Real Estate Law
    • Securitization and Structured Finance Law
    • Securities and Capital Markets Law

    CHAMBERS & PARTNERS USA

    Recognized as a leading lawyer in the fields of securities, corporate taxation and corporate law.

    TOP 50 Mid-South Super Lawyers

    Named one of the top 50 lawyers in Arkansas.

    Martindale-Hubbell

    Received the highest peer rating for legal ethics and ability.

    ARKANSAS BUSINESS – THE ARKANSAS 200

    Recognized in the inaugural edition of The Arkansas 200, published by Arkansas Business, among Arkansas’s top influencers, and has subsequently been honored in The Arkansas 250 for multiple years

    ARKANSAS MONEY & POLITICS LIST OF TOP 100 PROFESSIONALS IN ARKANSAS

    Recognized in the Arkansas Money & Politics list of Top 100 Professionals in Arkansas

    C-Suite Honors

    Recognized by the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal as part of its C-Suite Honors, an award given to the top business executives in the region.

    ARKANSAS BUSINESS 40 UNDER FORTY

    Named to the Arkansas Business 40 Under Forty list

    NORTHWEST ARKANSAS BUSINESS JOURNAL 40 UNDER FORTY

    Named to the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal 40 Under Forty list,

    ARKANSAS TECH UNIVERSITY HALL OF DISTINCTION

    Inducted into the Arkansas Tech University Hall of Distinction

    Community Involvement

    Arkansas Economic Development Commission

    Serves in his second term as a Commissioner.

    Board of Trustees of Arkansas Tech University

    Member of the Board of Trustees. Served as Chairman in 2023.

    University of Arkansas Technology Development Foundation

    Serves on the Executive Committee, which is responsible for managing and operating the Arkansas Research and Technology Park.

    Arkansas Venture Capital Forum

    Served on the Executive Committee of and as the co-chairman.

    Tax Section of the Arkansas Bar Association

    Chairman

    Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce

    Former Chairman and Member of the Board of Directors

    University of Arkansas School of Law

    Serves as an instructor teaching courses in the law of Mergers and Acquisitions, Securities Regulation, Corporate Practice Ethics, and Private Equity Investing.

    Priority Bank Board of Directors

    Member of the Board of Directors

    Publications

    Arkansas Law Notes

    SEC Lifts Ban on General Solicitation, Adopts “Bad Actor” Rules and Proposes Changes to Regulation D and Form D. 2013

    The Banking Law Journal

    Debt Cancellation Contracts: A Forgotten Asset. 1995

    Tax Notes

    Campbell v. Commissioner: The Eighth Circuit Adds Uncertainty to the Tax Treatment Regarding the Receipt of a Profits-Only Partnership Interest in Exchange for Services. 1993

    Representative Transactions

    Representation of Field Agent, Inc. in its acquisition of Shelfgram, a retail insights platform based in Toronto, Ontario.

    Representation of physician owners in sale of ambulatory surgery center to Washington Regional Medical.

    Legal counsel to venture capital fund in multiple private offerings for investment in and acquisition of AI and FinTech companies.

    Legal counsel to privately-held group in sale of its cold storage facilities and related logistics businesses.

    Representation of University of Arkansas Technology Development Foundation in acquisition of Enterprise Center office property located at the Arkansas Research and Technology Park through unwinding and restructuring of New Markets Tax Credit transaction.

    Representation of Brookhaven Commercial Properties, LLC, the owners of a 472 unit multi-family apartment living community, in a $21.6 million HUD sponsored credit facility transaction.

    Representation of Southwind Hospitality Holdings, LLC, in its acquisition, financing and large scale reconstruction of The Chancellor Hotel, the flagship 15-story hotel in Fayetteville, Arkansas, through the use of federal New Market Tax Credits.

    JIM SMITH

    JIM SMITH