Climbing Jacob's Ladder: A Trial Lawyer's Journey on Behalf of 'the Least of These' - Hardcover

Smith, Jock M.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1588380785 ISBN 13: 9781588380784

Publisher: NewSouth Books, 2002

Synopsis

Jacob Smith, a prominent black lawyer and political and civil rights leader in New York in the segregated 1950s, was assassinated when his son, Jock, was eight years old. If this memoir told only of a child’s loving remembrance of his father (and a desire to follow in his footsteps, thus Climbing Jacob’s Ladder), it would be a success. But Jock Smith grew up to become a lawyer himself, a college professor, one of the first African American assistant attorneys general in Alabama, and then a highly successful plaintiff’s lawyer, sports agent, sports memorabilia collector, and inspirational speaker. Now a national partner to superlawyer Johnnie Cochran, Smith operates in a fascinating world of power, wealth, fame, and faith. Climbing Jacob’s Ladder tells it all. Jock Smith is a great storyteller, and co-author Paul Hemphill is a great writer. Their collaboration brings us an insider’s view of the legal system, big-time sports collecting, contemporary black life, evangelism, and civil rights.

About this title

About the Author

Jock M. Smith (Author)
JOCK M. SMITH lives in Montgomery and practices with a national law firm with offices in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Memphis, Atlanta, and Washington, DC, as well as Tuskegee and Dothan, Alabama. Paul Hemphill is a veteran journalist and author of a dozen books of fiction and non-fiction, including Long Gone, Leaving Birmingham, and The Nashville Sound. He is a native of Birmingham, a graduate of Auburn University, was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, and now lives in Atlanta.

Reviews

When Jock Smith was eight, his father, Jacob, a lawyer, was murdered by a client's husband; Climbing Jacob's Ladder: From Queens to Tuskegee A Trial Lawyer's Journey on Behalf of "the Least of These" is Jock's tale, written with the aid of journalist Paul Hemphill, of growing up to be a lawyer, too. Now a partner to Johnnie Cochran (who pens the foreword), Jock is also a sports memorabilia collector (his first purchase, after the baseball cards of his youth, was a 1972 Willie Mays jersey), an announcer for the Tuskegee Golden Tigers and an inspirational speaker. In efficient if unlovely prose, Jock bears witness to his successes, especially in championing the causes of the underprivileged and the overlooked.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: NewSouth Books
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1588380785
• ISBN 13: 9781588380784
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304