Gregory D. Smith Inducted as Fellow of American College of Trial Lawyers
NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney Gregory D. Smith was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL) on March 5, 2021, at an online ceremony during the Spring Meeting of the College. ACTL is composed of preeminent members of the Trial Bar from the United States and Canada.
Founded in 1950, ACTL is an invitation-only fellowship of exemplary trial lawyers from the U.S. and Canada. Fellowship is awarded to those who demonstrate the highest standards of trial advocacy, ethical conduct, integrity, professionalism and collegiality and have been in practice for at least 15 years. Candidates for Fellowship are nominated by current Fellows and approved by the entire membership. Membership in ACTL is limited to 1% of the total lawyer population in the U.S. and Canada.
“We are incredibly proud of Greg and this prestigious accomplishment,” said Marjorie A. Farris, Chair of Stites & Harbison. “Stites & Harbison now has seven Fellows of the ACTL. It’s a distinction that highlights the firm’s litigation prowess. Greg is an extraordinary trial attorney, and is very deserving of this honor.”
Smith is a Member (Partner) of Stites & Harbison and serves as the Nashville Office Executive Member. As a member of the Family Law Service Group, his practice focuses primarily on complex divorce, custody, and support disputes in courts in Nashville and surrounding counties, and in international custody litigation. He also has an active appellate and mediation practice. His appeals include a Tennessee Supreme Court case that set the standard for subject matter jurisdiction in child support cases. Additionally, he has experience handling commercial litigation matters in both Tennessee state and federal courts.
Outside of the firm, Smith has been active in the local community in various ways. He has served on the board of directors of the Nashville Bar Association and been past-chair of its Juvenile Court Committee and the Circuit and Chancery Court Committee. Smith has presented numerous seminars over the past decade and more focusing on family law and ethical issues for the Tennessee Judicial Conference, National Business Institute, the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association, the Nashville Bar Association, and the Tennessee Bar Association, among others, and has regularly provided annual updates to the leading treatise on Tennessee family law. Smith has also participated in a program sponsored by the Harpeth Bike Club for blind athletes from the Tennessee School for the Blind and other members of the blind community in Nashville. Smith received his J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School and his B.S. from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.