James W. "Jim" Smith
Attorney James "Jim" Smith is a partner in the Fayetteville office of Conner & Winters. 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 company formation matters and 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. A meaningful part of his practice is also devoted to the representation of angel investors, private equity investors and venture capital firms in making investments in business enterprises.
Before joining Conner & Winters, Jim practiced in Corporate and Securities, Mergers and Acquisitions and Private Equity and Venture Capital at the law firm he co-founded with Rebecca Hurst in 2011. Prior to that, Jim practiced law for two decades as a partner with the largest Arkansas-based law firm.
Jim Smith is a licensed Certified Public Accountant (registered inactive) and serves as a Commissioner on the Arkansas Economic Development Commission and as the current Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Arkansas Tech University, originally appointed by Governor Asa Hutchinson. From 2021 to 2022, he served as the President and Chief Legal Counsel of Good Day Farm, which is the largest multi-state operator of medical marijuana cultivation and dispensary facilities in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Missouri. For years, Jim has taught at the University of Arkansas School of Law as an adjunct professor in the areas of Mergers and Acquisitions, Private Equity, Corporate Ethics and Securities Regulation.
- Named one of the top 50 lawyers in Arkansas by Mid-South Super Lawyers (2013)
- Named Top Trusts and Estates Lawyer in Fayetteville, Arkansas by Best Lawyers (2013)
Fayetteville, Arkansas 72703
