www.coreybsmithattorney.com

Mr. Smith was born in Macon, Georgia, and attended the public schools there, graduating from the Walter F. George School of Law. He was admitted to practice law in 1977 and has resided in Dublin, Georgia, for the past 38 years. He and his wife, Annette, have two adult children and attend First United Methodist Church in Dublin, Georgia. He worked his way both through undergraduate school and graduated from Mercer University in 1973 and thereafter attended law school. He obtained his Jurist Doctor Degree from the Walter F. George School of Law in June of 1977. Mr. Smith has practiced law in the public and private sector since July 1, 1977, when he became the first Assistant District Attorney for the Dublin Judicial Circuit. In 1979, he entered into private practice and was appointed as Juvenile Court Judge for Laurens County and served in that capacity for the next 18 years while practicing law. He began private practice of law as an associate with Douglas & Robertson, which became Robertson & Smith when the Honorable Dubignion Douglas was appointed to Superior Court Judge for the Dublin Judicial Circuit. He is a former member of Nelson, Gillis & Smith, where he practiced 10 years. In 2000, Mr. Smith was elected as a Judge to the Superior Court and served almost 12 years before retiring and re-entering private practice. He is now the managing partner of Smith Garner, LLC, here in Dublin. Mr. Smith is a member of Gideons International. While serving as Superior Court Judge, he served as Administrative Judge for the Eighth Judicial Administrative District, served on the Council of Superior Court Judges and the Judicial Council of Georgia, served on the Legislative Committee, Drug Court Committee, and the Compensation Retirement Committee with a Council of Superior Court Judges and as a former member of the Council of Juvenile Court Judges.

West graduated from Randolph-Macon College and received his J.D. from the University of Richmond School of Law. He joined Marks & Harrison in 2018 and he currently works in the Chesterfield Office.

Area of Practice: Police & Public Safety Law Founding Partner Sean Smoot is a subject matter expert on policing and public safety and the Managing Partner of 21CP. Building on a 30+ year career in law and policing, he now consults internationally on issues related to Constitutional Policing, Public Employment Labor Law, Pension & Benefits Law, Section 1983 Civil Rights Litigation, Body Worn Cameras, Use of Force, Supervision, Officer Safety & Wellness, Recruiting, Retention, and Hiring. Mr. Smoot was a police and public safety advisor to the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Teams and a Member of President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. He also was part of the Executive Session on Policing and Public Safety at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government from 2008 to 2014. He is a member of several national boards and committees, and regularly speaks at conferences, meetings, and forums on topics related to public safety, police-community relations, and law enforcement agency operations. He has appeared on CNN, C-SPAN, and several national news affiliates discussing critical issues in modern policing. Mr. Smoot’s career in law enforcement labor relations and legislative advocacy began in Illinois and he remains the Emeritus Director and Chief Counsel of the Police Benevolent & Protective Association of Illinois. He also is the Area 4 Vice-President of the National Association of Police Organizations (“NAPO”), a national law enforcement advocacy group representing over 250,000 police officers across the United States. Other noteworthy service in his native state includes his 2015 appointment to the Illinois Commission on Police Professionalism by then-Governor Bruce Rauner, and his current role on the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board (ILETSB). First appointed to ILETSB in 2020 by Governor J.B. Pritzker, he was elected Chairman of the Board in 2023. As ILETSB’s Chairman, he is responsible for the oversight and training of more than 35,000 sworn law enforcement officers and over 6,500 sworn correctional officers across the state. Mr. Smoot also spent 12 years as an elected alderman and ten years as the police commissioner in Leland Grove. Mr. Smoot holds a BS in Criminal Justice Sciences from Illinois State University and a JD from the Southern Illinois University School of Law, where he served as the Business Editor of the SIU Law Journal.