Climbing Jacob's Ladder

Jock M. Smith with Paul Hemphill

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, the first African-American assistant attorney general in Alabama, and then a highly successful plaintiff’s lawyer, sports agent, sports memorabilia collector, and inspirational speaker. Now the Alabama 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 the authors
Jock M. Smith received his undergraduate degree from Tuskegee University and his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Notre Dame Law School.  He lives in Montgomery and practices with a national law firm that has offices in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Memphis, Atlanta, Washington, Tuskegee and Dothan, Alabama.  He is also an agent and principal stockholder with Cochran Sports Management and the founder of Scoring For Life!, a motivational speaking ministry.

Paul Hemphill is a veteran journalist and author of a dozen books, including Long Gone, Leaving Birmingham, and The Nashville Sound.  He is a native of Birmingham and a graduate of Auburn University, was a Neiman Fellow at Harvard University, and now lives in Atlanta.