About Charles Nick
Charles Nick Smith built his legal foundation in Mississippi and has spent his career working across state lines. He studied locally, then returned to practice in the region where he trained. The path is short on detours and focused on courtroom experience and firm practice.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Mississippi College in 2005 and completed his Juris Doctor at Mississippi College School of Law in 2009. Those years framed his early exposure to trial work and municipal practice. Law school placed him near the courthouse and into hands-on roles that would shape his approach to litigation.
While still a student, Smith served as an extern in 2008 at the District Lawyer’s Office of the 17th Judicial District. That placement put him inside a public prosecutor’s office, where he observed case preparation, client interviews and courtroom procedure up close. The externship is a recurring reference point in his career narrative; it provided a practical bridge between classroom instruction and daily practice.
Within a year of finishing law school, Smith joined Chatham Gilder Howell Pittman and is listed as a partner there beginning in 2010. That early move into firm practice placed him on teams handling contested matters and client counseling. Colleagues describe his approach as methodical; he tends to favor clear lines of argument and thorough case work over flash. He has worked on matters that required coordination across jurisdictions, reflecting the dual nature of his admissions.
Smith is admitted to practice in Tennessee and Mississippi. He maintains involvement in professional circles and is a member of the American Bar Association. Those memberships keep him connected to changes in procedure and ethics guidance beyond his immediate courtroom work.
Outside the office he maintains ties to his alma mater and to the local legal community where he first gained practical experience. His background combines academic training at Mississippi College with early prosecutorial exposure and subsequent firm responsibilities. He practices law in Tennessee and Mississippi and concentrates his practice on matters handled in those state courts.
