James Smith

Practice Areas

Mergers and Acquisitions

Corporate Law

Taxation

Securities

Venture Capital, Private Equity and Fund Formation

Real Estate Law

Banking and Finance Law

New Market Tax Credits

Business Transactions

Corporate Finance

Entrepreneurial Services

Executive Compensation

Health Care Law

Information Technology and E-Commerce

Professional Service Companies

Retail Consumer Products

Trade Secrets

Asset Protection

Career

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 Venture Capital Investing and has previously taught courses in the fields of Mergers and Acquisitions, Securities Regulation, Private Equity Investing, 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 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 Mergers and Acquisitions, Corporate Law, Real Estate Law, Tax Law and Trusts and Estates by Best Law Firms in America and Chambers and Partners USA. The firm is a Tier 1 Law Firm in the fields of Corporate Law, Tax Law and Trusts and Estates Law as rated by Best Law Firms in America. Such highly touted publications as Best Lawyers in America, Chambers & Partners USA and Mid-South Super Lawyers have recognized members of the firm as leaders in the legal fields of mergers and acquisitions, securities, commercial and corporate law, real estate law, banking and finance law, tax law and trusts and estates. The foundation of Smith Hurst is a cohesive team of lawyers who share an attitude of excellence in serving their friends and clients, helping them achieve their business and personal goals and working to solve their most important, and often times most sensitive, problems.

Professional Memberships

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 and as the co-chairman.

TAX SECTION OF THE ARKANSAS BAR ASSOCIATION

- Served as Chairman.

FAYETTEVEILLE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

- Served as Chairman and Member of the Board of Directors.

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS SCHOOL OF LAW

- Serves as an instructor teaching courses in the law of Venture Capital Investing and formerly 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

Work Highlights

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.

Expert in these Jurisdictions

Mergers and Acquisitions

Corporate Law

Taxation

Securities

Venture Capital, Private Equity and Fund Formation

Real Estate Law

Banking and Finance Law

New Market Tax Credits

Business Transactions

Corporate Finance

Entrepreneurial Services

Executive Compensation

Health Care Law

Information Technology and E-Commerce

Professional Service Companies

Retail Consumer Products

Trade Secrets

Asset Protection

Experience

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’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.

Clients

Field Agent, Inc. - University of Arkansas Technology Development Foundation - Brookhaven Commercial Properties, LLC - Southwind Hospitality Holdings, LLC - SFC Fluidics, Inc. - Thrive Autism Solutions - Cobbler Technologies, Inc. d/b/a LeapXL - First National Bank of Hempstead County - Arkansas Power Electronics International, Inc. - DataRank, Inc. - Acumen Brands, Inc. - Rockfish Interactive, Inc.

Education

Awards