SMITH | ROBINSON’s Murrell Smith named Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers
August 21, 2025 • News
Of the three attorneys at SMITH | ROBINSON recognized in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®, one stands out in particular – G. Murrell Smith Jr.
He has received the top honor for the metropolitan Columbia area from that publication: Lawyer of the Year. That means he received the highest overall peer-feedback vote in the area in the category of Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants.
Murrell Smith is a co-founding member of Smith Robinson. He practices in a variety of areas, including civil litigation, medical malpractice defense, and insurance defense.
He has served as the speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives since May 2022.
A native of Florence, South Carolina, Smith grew up in Sumter, where he graduated from Wilson Hall in 1986. He attended Wofford College, where in 1990 he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and government. After earning his Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1993, he began practicing law in his hometown of Sumter and now has a presence representing clients in counties across the state.
Smith holds an AV Preeminent Rating by Martindale-Hubbell. He was recognized with the “Leadership in Law” award by South Carolina Lawyers Weekly in 2019 and earned recognized from Super Lawyers for Business Litigation in 2025. He has been a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) since 2020 and was selected for the 2020 Compleat Lawyer Award by the University of South Carolina School of Law.
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based on peer review. The process is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area. For more information, go to the Best Lawyers website.