Somerville’s “best attorney” fights for what’s right

On December 9, 2004, in Uncategorized, by The News Staff

by Kate Hill

The readers of The Somerville News voted Edwin J. Smith, of the law firm Rumery & Smith in

Davis Square, Best Attorney for 2004.

Smith grew up around the law profession in Harnell, a rural town in western New York. “My mother worked as a secretary in a law office,” he said.

He spent a good deal of time in the office as a child and thought the career seemed exciting. “My mother’s boss told me it was something new everyday,” said Smith.

Smith said he earned a degree in political science at Princeton. After that he worked as a brakeman on the Erie-Lakawanna Railroad before attending the Boston University School of Law. He finished law school in 1979 and worked at the North Shore firm Ardiff, Ardiff and Morse, doing mostly civil work.

While attending BU, Smith was introduced to his sister’s friend Martha, whom Smith would eventually marry. Meeting Martha led Smith to decide that Boston

was the place for him. After answering an ad on the Boston University placement board, he joined Stuart Rumery, who passed away 14 years ago, at his 403 Highland Avenue firm.

Real estate, business law and tax returns make up the majority of Smith’s business. Most of his clients are walk-ins and he has earned his good reputation by word of mouth. While he does not encounter too many ethical dilemmas, he does stand firm on one point. “People want me to be too aggressive on tax returns,” he said.

And even with so much experience, Smith still second-guesses his decisions. “That’s how you improve the job, by second guessing yourself,” he said.

Although Smith deals primarily with civil cases, he does have one litigation case of which he is proud. A young married man with a wife and a baby committed grand larceny. “The woman he stole from wanted to hang him,” Smith recalled.

Smith and the clerk magistrate successfully labored to convince the woman to settle before the case was brought before a judge. They were concerned that, if convicted, the man would lose his job and this one mistake would ruin his life. “It would’ve been a disaster if it went to a judge,” he said. “It’s the American way to give a second chance.”

When he is not at the office, Smith enjoys exercising and reading, but is also involved in the community. He is a board member for both The Somerville Home, a retirement home for independent seniors, and The Somerville Mental Health Association, which provides counseling services. Smith’s wife is an artist and they both enjoy the diverse community Somerville provides.

Though Smith focuses on civil cases, he found criminal defense classes most interesting while at BU. “If I had to do it all again, I might have been a criminal defense lawyer,” he said.