Member
About J.
J. Arthur “Art” Smith, III is a Baton Rouge labor and employment attorney and the owner of Smith Law Firm. He established the firm in 1972; its North Street office also handles personal injury claims, a separate part of the firm’s stated practice.
Questions about access to court recur in Smith’s published work. An October 2012 article listed in his biography addresses whether Louisiana state employees seeking relief for disability discrimination must first pursue civil service appeals. Another article from that year concerns procedural protections for teachers and university professors. His 2013 publications turn to two other subjects: possible amicus curiae assistance in employment cases and the Supreme Court’s standard for causation under Title VII. All four appear in his profile’s list of publications for the Louisiana Association for Justice.
Smith’s involvement with employment-law organizations includes founding the Baton Rouge affiliate of the National Employment Lawyers Association. He formerly chaired both the Labor and Employment and Civil Rights sections of the Louisiana Association for Justice.
Before entering practice, Smith earned two Louisiana State University degrees with honors: a bachelor’s in business and public administration in 1968 and a law degree in 1971. His listed admissions include the Louisiana Supreme Court in 1972 and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in 1975. The firm describes his courtroom work as encompassing both trials and appeals.