Today we’d like to introduce you to Tia Smith.
Tia, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I knew very early on that my career destination would involve law. Because of this early realization, all focus and effort while in school was geared toward actualizing this long-held belief that I would be a lawyer. I attended the University of South Carolina for undergrad, the University of Georgia School of Law, and studied abroad in Europe while in law school. After law school, I had no intention of practicing immigration law. It was never on my radar. However, I was recruited by a firm that practiced exclusively in complex employment-based immigration cases, and once I joined the firm, I became really skilled at it.
I was later courted by another Atlanta firm to expand its business immigration department. After a series of health challenges, I decided to start my own practice. In 2014, I founded Daniels & Smith, LLC. My firm serves both families and highly skilled professionals.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
“When you meet obstacles with gratitude, your perception starts to shift, resistance loses its power, and grace finds a home within you.” Oprah Winfrey
There have been many challenges, both personally and professionally. As a business owner, those challenges often reside in the same space. For starters, there has never been a more contentious time to be an immigration attorney, and it’s difficult not to carry the work internally. Personally, I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, my first year in law school which presented many physical challenges. There were many days that were so painful that I could barely hold a book, walk, or even focus. Law school is very rigorous and takes serious mental and physical fortitude. And here I was taking chemotherapy agents and immunosuppressants on the weekends, so I could be in class on Monday morning. It was a lot to handle, but I adjusted and pushed through. A few years into law practice and three days after my engagement to my now-husband, I was diagnosed with breast cancer at the ripe old age of 27. It was life-changing, to say the least.
Three months after the long recovery from multiple surgeries, I started a family and conceived my first son. I decided that I would take some time to adjust to our new baby and then step out on faith to form my own practice, Daniels & Smith, LLC. Being a wife, a mother to three boys (Josiah, Jackson, and Julius), a business owner, community servant, and attorney presents daily obstacles, but each challenge has created new perspectives, new opportunities, and a renewed faith! I now find gratitude and God’s grace in each new day and whatever it brings. Challenges are inevitable, but the response to the challenge is where growth happens.
Please tell us about Daniels & Smith.
Daniels & Smith is a boutique law firm dedicated to assisting clients with navigating complex immigration and estate planning matters. Daniels & Smith counsels employers, employees, families, and individuals in assessing their immigration needs and ensuring compliance with federal immigration and labor laws. Although based in Atlanta, Georgia, I represent clients locally and globally, acting as both counsel and immigration strategist in devising comprehensive immigration solutions tailored to client needs. My area of expertise focuses on business and family immigration. I have extensive experience representing large corporations including domestic and international organizations in the various fields of education, engineering, information technology, international religious organizations, and individuals in the arts and entertainment industry.
In addition to my immigration practice, I provide counsel to clients regarding their evolving estate planning needs and regularly represents notable clients in the city of Atlanta. My clients range from business professionals to chart-topping artists and entertainers.
What I love most about my firm is the long-lasting relationships that I develop with clients. Their stories of perseverance challenge me to give them nothing less than my best. Each client becomes a part of the firm’s journey. I’ve shared in some of their most personal moments… attended weddings, baby showers, celebrated home closings. I’ve held back tears drafting final estate arrangements for long-time clients in their final days of life, and celebrated hard-fought victories in cases that gained national attention. It’s humbling work and I am thankful for how they have added to my life.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My childhood was poppin’! I was born and raised in Atlanta, and I’m a peach to my core. She is my city, and I am her girl. My family is from East Atlanta, but my parents, Ramon and Betty, siblings, and I moved to Stone Mountain when I was fairly young. Growing up, my parents were very social so I probably experienced more of the city than the average child. On any given day, you could find me at Piedmont Park at an Ohio Players concert, catching a ballet at the Fox, stuffing my face at Zestos on Moreland Ave. in East Atlanta, or battle dancing with my cousins on Saturday night, but in the choir stand singing on Sunday mornings at my grandfather’s church on the west side. My childhood was filled with family, and they still are my favorite people to be around.
I really considered myself privileged to be a child of this city. I still carry the very essence and soul of old Atlanta, while amazed daily at the evolution the city has experienced.
Contact Info:
- Address: 3469 Lawrenceville Highway
Suite 310
Tucker, GA 30084 - Website: danielsandsmith.com
- Phone: (404) 719-5135
- Email: tia@danielsandsmith.com
- Instagram: @tiasmithesq
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/danielssmithlaw/
2018 Atlanta’s Women of Distinction Rising Star Award Recipient, March of Dimes
LIFE CDC Presentation (Pictured: Tia Smith, Esq. and Terence Merritt, MD): I volunteer with the LIFE Community Development Corporation, and was also there representing 21 Savage in his absence and his charity “Leading By Example” where he donated 10k to the organization for school supplies, anti-bullying and mental health resources for children in Atlanta.
Solicitor General Keith Gammage, Tom Jones (of WSBTV Channel 2), 21 Savage, Tia Smith, and Chief Deputy Solicitor General Kenya Johnson. Post interview photo in support of Guns Down, Heads Up! Initiative spearheaded by the Fulton County Solicitor General’s office
Suggest a story: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
