Legal Moves

Dickson Street is gaining a dynamic lawyerly duo.

Jim Smith and Rebecca Hurst, both previously of Friday, Eldredge & Clark LLP, have formed their own firm, Smith Hurst PLC. They will occupy about 500 SF of space in the Three Sisters Office Building in Fayetteville.

Smith said the move stemmed from a desire to “steer our own ship,” and that the split with the Friday firm was “amicable.”

Smith worked at Friday, Eldredge & Clark for 16 years, while Hurst put in five. Their new staff will include a full-time legal assistant and two other part-time staffers.

Sept. 1 is Smith Hurst’s official open date, but our understanding is both attorneys brought clients from the Friday firm and currently are working for them. Their focus will continue to be business transactions, asset protection, mergers and acquisitions, and estate planning. Most litigation will be farmed out initially.

Smith said a plan for “deliberate” growth is in place, and that the abundance of innovation and entrepreneurship in Fayetteville and other parts of Northwest Arkansas is what most excites him and Hurst. The idea to start their own firm began brewing about a year ago, they said, but was shifted into high gear within the last four or five months.