Before founding the law firm of Smith Martin in 1984, Jim was a staff attorney for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission of the U.S. Department of Energy from 1978 to 1980. From 1980 to 1983, he was Corporate Counsel for T. Smith & Son, Inc.

Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Jim attended Jesuit High School and received his undergraduate degree from Boston College in 1975. He attended Cambridge University in England where he received an L.L.B. in 1978 and earned an L.L.M. in 1980 from George Washington University. Jim also obtained postgraduate legal training in admiralty law at Tulane University.

Jim offers extensive experience in land use and real estate matters. He manages an active real estate practice and directs projects of various sizes and characters. Jim represents buyers, sellers, and lenders in real estate transactions, including all types of contract and document preparation and numerous real estate financings.

Jim practices before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the U.S. Tax Court and the Supreme Court of Louisiana. He is a member of the New Orleans Bar Association, Louisiana State Bar Association (sections on Real Estate, Business, and Corporate Law), American Bar Association (sections on Real Estate, Corporations, Banking and Business Law, and Tax Law), Board of Trustees of the International Association of Gaming Attorneys, and the American Bar Association Committee on Gaming Law.