Stephen William Smith

I devote my practice to advising and representing individuals, businesses, and associations in the broad spectrum of real estate and property matters, as well as corporate issues, and counseling and representing families and individuals in matters of wills, estates, and trusts. I have extensive experience working with and assisting a variety of clients, including property owners and entrepreneurs; buyers, sellers and developers of property; corporations and LLCs; condominium and homeowner associations; and big families, young couples, and empty nesters. I have presented at seminars and authored numerous articles, including a piece on condominium association boards which appeared in Michigan Real Property Review, the official journal of the State Bar’s Real Property Law Section.

A native of Coloma, Michigan, I am still remembered in Southwest Michigan for having represented the University of Notre Dame on the Jeopardy! College Championship. After graduating magna cum laude from Notre Dame, I earned my law degree at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C, where I served on the editorial staff of the Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics. I practiced law in both the public and private sectors for nearly a decade in Washington, D.C. and Virginia, and have been in private practice in Michigan since 2007.  I was honored to be named a Rising Star among Michigan lawyers by Super Lawyers Magazine in both 2012 and 2013, and was privileged to be a candidate for Berrien County District Court Judge in 2014.  A local history buff, I have twice been published in Michigan History Magazine.

Service to the community in which I was raised, and in which I now raise my family, is very important to me. I serve on the Berrien County Land Bank Authority and the boards of directors of the Berrien County Historical Association and the Berrien Artist Guild, and am an associate director of Honor Credit Union and a proud member of the St. Joseph-Benton Harbor Rotary Club.  I am also a former member of the Lakeshore and Four Flags Chambers of Commerce, Lest We Forget, and the Southwest Michigan Home Builders Association, have previously served on the board of directors of Emergency Shelter Services and the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra's Development Committee, and was honored to serve as chairman of the Citadel Dance & Music Center.