About Jonathan Scott
Jonathan Scott Smith earned his Bachelor of Arts in Jurisprudence from the University of Baltimore in 1975 and returned there to complete his Juris Doctor in 1977. He built his legal foundation during those years and moved into public service soon after law school. Early courtroom exposure shaped his approach to litigation.
Smith began his career in government work. In 1980 he joined the Baltimore County State's Attorney's Office as an Assistant State's Attorney. That role put him in the courtroom regularly and gave him experience with trial procedure and case preparation. He left public prosecution after a few years and entered private practice in 1984, opening his own firm and taking on a range of civil matters.
Over the decades Smith has secured admissions to several courts beyond the state level. He is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, along with the Maryland courts and the U.S. District Court for Maryland. Those credentials have allowed him to handle cases in both state and federal forums.
Professional associations have been a steady part of Smith's career. He joined the Howard County Bar Association in 1979 and has maintained that membership. He became a member of the Maryland Trial Lawyers Association in 1980 and has been active there. In 1990 he joined the Hon. James Macgill American Inn of Court as a Barrister and later served as its president from 1996 to 1997. He also held a leadership post in the Maryland Association for Justice, chairing the Nursing Home Section from 2008 to 2010. Those roles reflect an ongoing engagement with trial practice and peer education.
Smith's background combines public prosecution and private trial work. His practice has included civil litigation and areas that touch on nursing home care and eldercare disputes, the latter underscored by his leadership role in the nursing home section of a state association. He has tried cases in state and federal courts and counseled clients through all phases of litigation, from discovery to verdict.
He continues to operate a private law practice that handles civil litigation and trial matters, including cases arising from nursing home care and related disputes.
