Jim Smith is a partner at the Boston law firm, Foley Hoag LLP, where he has practiced since the fall of 1982. He is a member of the firm’s business department, with a principal focus on international mergers and acquisitions (including sustainable yield plantation forestry in the southern hemisphere) and debt financing. Jim is also the chair of Foley’s Legal Opinions Committee.

Prior to joining Foley, Jim earned a BA in chemistry and Masters of Public Administration at Drake University and his JD at Harvard Law School. He clerked for the Hon. Gerald Bard Tjoflat on the US Court of Appeals for the 11^th Circuit in Jacksonville, Florida.

In August 2017, Jim married Betsy Gardella, the President and CEO of New Hampshire Public Radio. Betsy is also involved with UUSC as a member of the Communications Committee. Between them, Betsy and Jim have three children: Arthur, a doctoral candidate in economics at Boston University; Aletha, a second year student at Stanford Law School, and Catherine, an aspiring singer, songwriter, and student at Southern New Hampshire University.

Jim and Betsy are members of the UUSC Stewardship Circle and of the First Parish Church in Bedford, Massachusetts.