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J. Philip Smith
Phone: (512) 477-7543
Fax: (512) 474-0954
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J. Philip Smith started out as an independent landman in an oil and gas lease brokerage firm, working for oil companies in Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas. His first job in a law firm was as an oil and gas attorney in Houston where he spent most of a decade writing title opinions for exploration and production activities throughout Texas. He later was a private “country lawyer” in Mississippi and New Mexico and more recently served as a deputy district attorney in the Taos, New Mexico judicial district. Phil’s responsibility in the firm is in oil, gas and mineral title examinations, primarily in New Mexico, where his oil and gas law practice includes not only the preparation of drilling and division order title opinions based upon inspection and assessment of pertinent county, state and federal land records, but also advising clients regarding regulatory matters in New Mexico.
Practice Areas:
Education:
- Bachelor of Arts, History and Political Science, University of Mississippi, 1967
- Doctor of Jurisprudence, University of Mississippi, 1975
- Doctor of Education, University of Memphis, 1998
Professional Licenses:
- Licensed in New Mexico, Texas and Mississippi
Professional Affiliations & Honors:
- State Bar of Texas ; State Bar of New Mexico
Court Admissions:
- All Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Mississippi and Tennessee courts
- U.S. District Courts in Mississippi, Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado
- the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit
Additional Information:
Before going to law school, Phil taught math at the junior high school level and was an assistant principal at a junior high school in Biloxi. After a year as Assistant Professor of Education Law at the University of North Dakota, Phil became a faculty member at the University of Memphis where he taught business law, history of the U.S. Constitution, history of education, school law and other school administration courses.
Other accomplishments Phil is proud of include the fact that he was an Eagle Scout and served on the staff at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico for five summers, that he studied piano and organ, that he is a self-taught equestrian and canoeist, that he earned his private pilot’s license at Bird’s Nest airport near Austin while studying for the Texas Bar exam, and that during the Vietnam War, he served as Communications Controller and Airborne Missile Launch Officer in both the underground and airborne command posts of the Strategic Air Command at Omaha, Nebraska.
Phil is married to Debby Jenkins, an elementary school teacher. They are the proud parents of Ginny, a native Texan, and a nurse who is married with three young children. Phil enjoys and is particularly fond of his grandson Tyler, and Allie and Chloe, his granddaughters. Phil and his family attend St. Peter Catholic Church in Memphis, where his great-grandparents were married in 1874, and where he serves as a lector and diocesan marriage tribunal advocate.
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