Members With 9 to 5's // Lawyer Gregory Smith: Progressive Litigator Gets Innovative at 3rd Ward

As a profession, law is notorious for requiring absurdly long hours. As such, we don't have many lawyers in our midst at 3rd Ward--but Gregory Smith makes time for his creative pursuits, just one thing that sets him apart from the John Grisham-type.
"I'm not your typical lawyer, for sure," Smith says. "I despise corporate legal culture and how it's turned the litigation system into an ATM for lawyers and a nightmare for the average litigant." His practice works on a sliding scale to serve people who might not otherwise have access to high-quality litigation.
When he's not writing briefs, Smith is, well, penning other things. In addition to political op-eds and essays on alternative marriage and sexualities for legal journals, "I've written a big chunk of a guidebook to Central America," he says. "I'm also kicking around a couple of story ideas for TV/film--but who isn't?"
In that vein, Smith is looking forward to taking photography classes at 3rd Ward and then aiming to branch out into other areas. "I'm approaching 3rd Ward with a wide open mind and mostly want to use it to help me follow more creative pursuits in my free time and gain inspiration and ideas from people who, like me, are working out how to run a successful, innovative small business in this crazy economy," he says.
We've got a feeling he's on the right path.
--Layla Schlack


