Smith Hurst, PLC

Founding Partner

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.
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.
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.

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

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.

Education

New York University School of Law

Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Taxation (1995)

University of Arkansas School of Law

Juris Doctor, 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
  

  License

  Licensed Certified Public Accountant

  (Registered Inactive)

  Jim is also a Graduate of VC University, a joint initiative of the National Venture Capital Association, Berkeley Law Executive Education, and Venture Forward.

Honors and Recognitions

CHAMBERS & PARTNERS USA

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

Best Lawyers in America

Chosen as Lawyer of the Year

• 2025 – Mergers and Acquisitions Law
• 2024, 2022 – Corporate Law
• 2024, 2022, 2021 & 2019 – Tax Law

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

TOP 50 Mid-South Super Lawyers

Named one of the top 50 lawyers in Arkansas.

MARTINDALE-HUBBELL, AV RATING

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

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