Fred O. Smith Jr.

Fred Smith Jr. is a Visiting Professor of Law at Yale Law School and the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law at Emory University School of Law. He is a scholar of the federal judiciary, constitutional law, and local government. 

Smith clerked for Judge Myron Thompson of the Middle District of Alabama; Judge Barrington D. Parker Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; and Justice Sonia Sotomayor of the United States Supreme Court. Prior to teaching, he also worked for Bondurant, Mixson & Elmore LLP in Atlanta.

Smith's research focuses on the federal judiciary, constitutional law, and posthumous legal interests. His work has appeared, or will appear, in Harvard Law Review, Stanford Law Review, Columbia Law Review, University of Chicago Law Review, California Law Review, Michigan Law Review, and New York University Law Review, among other academic journals. 

In a range of volunteer capacities, Smith promotes equity and social justice. He serves as a vice-chair of the national board of Lambda Legal. From 2018 to 2022, he served on the board of Invest Atlanta — the economic and community development authority of City of Atlanta. He also served as an inaugural advisory board member for the Harvard Debate Council Diversity Project, which annually trains black Atlanta youth in critical thinking and public speaking.