Jeffrey P. Smith earned his B.A. at Northwestern in 1977 and his J.D. at Harvard Law School in 1982, where he was an editor of the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review. Experienced in government and the public interest sector as well as private practice, nearly all of his 20+ year career has been in the area of civil law, with emphasis on advising individuals and entrepreneurs. He has practiced in nearly every forum in Illinois, from hearings before the Illinois Department of Labor and the Illinois Commerce Commission to arguments before the Illinois Supreme Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He has been listed since 1999 in Who's Who in American Law.

Mr. Smith is attorney of record for the prevailing party in numerous reported cases in the Illinois higher courts and federal court. Notable examples include Lake Michigan Federation v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a land-use injunctive lawsuit that applied the public trust doctrine to protect a portion of Chicago's lakefront; Baksinski v. Corey, only the second Illinois case of record involving a defendant class action; South Austin Community Council v. I.C.C., which established a standard for government attorney's fees in administrative cases, and Coleman v. Vincent Lane, et al., vindicating the civil rights of a wrongfully terminated public employee.

At Loyola University of Chicago School of Law, Jeff Smith served as the director of the Medicare Project and taught practical legal skills in such areas as landlord-tenant and domestic relations to over one hundred attorneys now practicing in Illinois. He has also lectured in election law, and has written on numerous topics, including editing chapters on hearsay and opinion evidence for a major legal publisher. Mr. Smith has served as a volunteer attorney and/or board member for numerous local organizations, including the judicial evaluation committee of the Independent Voters of Illinois. A frequent speaker at public meetings and panels, Mr. Smith is committed to reform in the government and judiciary.

Jeff Smith lives in Evanston, Illinois, where he and his wife raised two children. As a very early computer user, a former board member of a large Chicago-area computer user group, and a composer and writer, Jeff Smith is sensitive to the legal needs of those involved in fields which are changing rapidly with technology, such as hardware and software development, e-commerce, desktop publishing, video, music, and design.

Jeff Smith is committed to offering a common-sense and client-centered approach to a general practice of law that currently includes business planning, intellectual property, commercial litigation, real estate, contract, estate and estate planning, municipal law, and employment matters. Personal injury and domestic relations matters are considered on a select case-by-case basis. For inquiries or more details on specific areas of practice, contact Jeff Smith. The Law Offices of Jeff Smith are located in downtown Evanston, convenient to transit lines, I-94, and the 2nd District courthouse, as well as both Chicago and the northern suburbs.