About Perry Scott Smith
Perry Scott Smith Jr. practiced law for decades after finishing formal study in the mid-1980s. He earned a J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law in 1985 after completing undergraduate work in biology and education at Loyola University Chicago. His academic background combined scientific training and classroom experience before he turned to the law.
He began his legal career in 1985 at the Lake County State's Attorney’s Office. That early role placed him in the day-to-day work of a county prosecutor and provided courtroom experience from the outset. In 1991 he served as a Special Assistant Attorney General in the Illinois Attorney General’s Office. Those public-sector positions mark the first decade of a career that moved between government service and private practice.
Over time Smith broadened the range of forums in which he practices. He is admitted in Illinois and in several federal courts, including the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. He has handled matters that required appearances in trial courts and appellate venues.
Smith has been active in local and state bar organizations. He held a series of officer roles in the Lake County Bar Association between 2007 and 2013, including treasurer, second vice president, first vice president, president in 2011–2012, and immediate past president in 2012–2013. He served as an Assembly Delegate to the Illinois State Bar Association from 2007 to 2013. On the foundation side, he has been a trustee of the Lake County Bar Foundation since 2017 and has served as its treasurer beginning in 2018.
His résumé reflects a mix of public service and community involvement rather than a single marquee case or national profile. That blend shows in the variety of roles he accepted over the years and in the way he has stayed engaged with the Lake County legal community. He has maintained ties to local institutions while keeping the option of federal practice open through his court admissions.
Smith currently practices at Wysocki & Smith. He represents clients in state and federal proceedings and continues to participate in appellate matters as allowed by his admissions, focusing his practice on litigated matters in those forums.
