Chesterfield Harvey Smith (July 28, 1917 – July 16, 2003) was an American lawyer. He co-founded the

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

Holland & Knight Holland & Knight LLP is a multinational law firm with approximately 2,200 attorneys and professional staff worldwide. Headquartered in Tampa, Florida, the firm has a number of different practices areas, including litigation, corporate law, real ...

and served as president of the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...

in 1973-1974, during the

Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the Presidency of Richard Nixon, administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Resignation of Richard Nixon, Nix ...

Early life and education

Smith was born and grew up in

Arcadia, Florida Arcadia is a city and county seat of DeSoto County, Florida, United States. Arcadia's Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its population was 7,420 as of the 2020 census, down from 7,637 at the 2010 census. It ...

. He attended the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

, where he joined the

Florida National Guard The Florida National Guard is the National Guard force of the state of Florida. It comprises the Florida Army National Guard and the Florida Air National Guard. The United States Constitution charges the National Guard with dual federal and st ...

. In 1940, he was called to

active duty Active duty, in contrast to reserve duty, is a full-time occupation as part of a military force. Indian The Indian Armed Forces are considered to be one of the largest active service forces in the world, with almost 1.42 million Active Standin ...

, eventually serving with the

Third United States Army Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1945, having won the

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

and a

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

, he was discharged with the

rank A rank is a position in a hierarchy. It can be formally recognized—for example, cardinal, chief executive officer, general, professor—or unofficial. People Formal ranks * Academic rank * Corporate title * Diplomatic rank * Hierarchy ...

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

.A Legal Lion Who Shaped Florida, July 18, 2003, http://www.sptimes.com/2003/07/18/State/A_legal_lion_who_shap.shtml Following his discharge, Smith enrolled at the University of Florida Law School, paying his tuition with money earned from

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...

on the

transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

back from Europe after the war.Holland & Knight, Chesterfield Smith Memorial, While at the

he helped found the

Florida Law Review The ''Florida Law Review'' is a bimonthly law review published by the University of Florida's Fredric G. Levin College of Law. The journal was established in 1948 as the ''University of Florida Law Review'' and it assumed its current name in 1989. ...

and was a member of

Florida Blue Key Florida Blue Key is a student leadership honor society at the University of Florida. It was founded in 1923. The organization is the oldest and most prestigious leadership honorary in the state of Florida. Members include notable politicians an ...

. He was also a member of the Board.

Career

Soon after graduating from law school, Smith joined Holland, Bevis & McRae, a

Bartow, Florida Bartow ( ) is a city and the county seat of Polk County, Florida, Polk County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1851 as Fort Blount, the city was renamed in honor of Francis S. Bartow, the first brigade commander of the Confederate Army to di ...

law firm that eventually became Holland & Knight. Smith gained early notoriety representing Florida's

phosphate Phosphates are the naturally occurring form of the element phosphorus. In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthop ...

industry, and in 1964 was named president of the

Florida Bar The Florida Bar is the integrated, or unified bar organization for the state of Florida. It is the third largest such bar in the United States.

. In 1965, Smith was appointed chairman of the Florida Constitutional Revision Commission, and was named Distinguished Floridian of the Year by the

Florida Chamber of Commerce The Florida Chamber of Commerce is an organization devoted to the advocacy of private businesses in the state of Florida. This Chamber originated in 1912, and included its first continuing group in 1916, the ''Florida Tick Eradication Committee''.h ...

for his efforts to revise the Florida Constitution.Chesterfield Smith, Top 50 Most Influential Floridians of the 20th Century, While serving as President of the American Bar Association he became an outspoken critic of

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

and advocated for the congressional reappointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the Watergate affair, although Smith had earlier supported Nixon's

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

and 1972 presidential campaigns. Smith's statement following the

Saturday Night Massacre The "Saturday Night Massacre" was a series of resignations over the dismissal of special prosecutor Archibald Cox that took place in the United States Department of Justice during the Watergate scandal in 1973. The events followed the refusal b ...

that "no man is above the law" drew national headlines and the ire of Nixon supporters. Smith, though conveying the persona of a folksy Southerner, was an aggressive reformer. He overhauled the

Florida Constitution The Constitution of the State of Florida is the document that establishes and describes the powers, duties, structure, and function of the government of the U.S. state of Florida, and establishes the basic law of the state. The current Constitu ...

, giving more representation to growing urban parts of the state at the expense of rural areas who sought to preserve power not reflected by their population share. As ABA president, he urged reforms not only to the structure of that organization, but to the entire American legal system. He spoke out against segregation in the 1950s, and against criminal penalties for marijuana possession in the 1960s. Following his term as ABA President, Smith focused his attention on growing Holland & Knight from a regional Florida firm into one with a national presence. The firm currently has over 1100 lawyers in 17 U.S., 2 international and 2 representative offices. In 1998, Smith became the 12th person honored by the Florida governor as a "Great Floridian." On September 21, 2006, the

University of Florida Levin College of Law The University of Florida Levin College of Law (UF Law) is the law school of the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest operating public law school in Florida and second oldest overall in the stat ...

dedicated the Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom in Smith's memory. Smith's longtime friend,

Supreme Court Justice The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest-ranking judicial body in the United States. Its membership, as set by the Judiciary Act of 1869, consists of the chief justice of the United States and eight associate justices, any six of ...

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( ; Bader; March 15, 1933 – September 18, 2020) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until Death and state funeral of Ruth Bader ...

spoke at the ceremony.

Honors and recognition

In 1975, he received the Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a nonprofit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest-achieving people in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet one ano ...

The Chesterfield Smith Award

Since his passing, the Pro Bono Institute (PBI) has presented The Chesterfield Smith Award at the PBI Annual Conference in his honor. The Chesterfield Smith Award recognizes “extraordinary courage and commitment” to pro bono by someone in the legal field. According to the PBI, Chesterfield “believed, passionately and completely, in equal justice for all, while standing firm in his conviction that public service and pro bono are absolutely essential elements in the lives of lawyers and in the work of great law firms.” The first award was given in 2005 to John D. Hamilton, Jr.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Chesterfield University of Florida alumni Florida lawyers Presidents of the American Bar Association 1917 births 2003 deaths Holland & Knight partners Fredric G. Levin College of Law alumni 20th-century American lawyers Members of Phi Kappa Phi