Pisgah Legal Services Honors Phil Smith
On Tuesday, March 16, Phil Smith was awarded Pisgah Legal Services’ Roy W. Davis, Jr. Award. The following is a reprint of the announcement in the event booklet from the evening, “Jazz for Justice.”
Phil embodies the professional ideal of service by attorneys to the community, particularly the responsibility of attorneys to serve people who cannot afford legal assistance. Phil has repeatedly donated his srvices to lead local Bar efforts to fulfill the promise of equal justice under law. Access to legal assistance underpins the goal of justice in our country.
In 1998, PLS was threatened by an effort to merge it as a local non-proft into a statewide legal aid program. PLS would have lost its local Board of Directors and local leadership of the program. Phil Smith worked zealously and successfully to represent PLS without compensation in a complex set of issues to preserve PLS as a local and independent non-profit agency.
A few years later, Phil joined the Pisgah Legal Services Board of Directors. He served two three-year terms, including two years as Vice President and two years as President. In this period and under Phil’s leadership, PLS programs expanded steadily, as did volunteer attorney participation in those programs.
While President, PLS was challeneged again by external forces, this time by a lawsuit in federal court by the Legal Services Corporation in Washington, D..C. seeking to take the PLS office and parking lot on Montford Avenue in Asheville. A loss of this resource would have greatly impeded PLS. Phil led another successful and organized effort of local attorneys. Under his leadership, the lawsuit was favorably resolved, enabling PLS to retain ownership of its real estate.
Once that issue was resolved, Phil served with a special group of PLS leaders to find and finance large office space so that PLS can double the number of people it serves annually. This project involved many, many meetings and considerable vision, in addition to generous financial contributions.
As president of the Van Winkle Law Firm, Phil continues his long-standing support for the mission of PLS. The firm’s support for PLS has been crucial to PLS’ growth and stability over the years. Previous recipients of the Roy W. Davis, Jr. award are Roy Davis, Jr., Walter Allen, Larry McDevitt and Ward Hendon.