In each issue of Bar News, WSBA President Adewale will ask one Washington legal professional, one “Hero of Justice,” to share how they came to practice law.
Judge Jeffrey R. Smith
Spokane County District Court
I was appointed to the Spokane County District Court bench in 2016 and elected to full terms in 2018 and 2022. Our court comprises eight judges and roughly 80 employees, handling between 40,000 and 50,000 cases annually. I currently serve as presiding judge and also oversee the Mental Health Court and DUI Therapeutic Court dockets.
My path to the bench was unconventional. After earning a B.Sc. from Whitworth University, I attended Yale School of Medicine’s Physician Associate Program. Thus began a 16-year career as a physician associate, in both surgery and primary care. In 2001, I made the decision to pivot to law and graduated from Gonzaga University School of Law in 2004.
I am often asked why I left a successful medical career to become a lawyer. The answer is complex, but at its core, I felt the practice of medicine was shifting away from a vocation toward a system increasingly driven by volume and financial pressures. More patients, less time, and diminished quality eroded the sense of purpose that had drawn me to the art and practice of medicine in the first place.
I have come to view the law, like medicine, as a high and noble calling. Both professions place practitioners alongside individuals in moments of distress, requiring not only expertise but empathy, judgment, and steadiness. The opportunity to guide someone through difficult circumstances is a profound responsibility—and a privilege.
Nowhere is that more evident than in our therapeutic courts. There is nothing quite like the honor of presenting a graduation certificate to a participant who has labored to succeed and completed our program, supported by a dedicated team committed to their success. These moments underscore a powerful truth: It is not where a person begins, but where they finish, that defines their journey.