Press Release

BIRMINGHAM—Ralph H. Smith, II was a featured speaker at the Rotary and Rotaract Clubs of Birmingham's reception held on May 12, 2014. The reception was held to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the "Professional Partners Program," a joint program between the Birmingham Rotaract Club and the Downtown Rotary Club of Birmingham that provides members from each club the opportunity to learn more about each other's professions, to network, and to foster relationships with established members of the Birmingham community. Mr. Smith was presented with the inaugural "Mentor Birmingham Award" by the Rotaract Club of Birmingham in 2012. 

About Ralph Smith and the Ralph Smith Group
Ralph Smith, CEO of The Ralph Smith Group and special counsel at Jones Walker LLP, served for almost a decade as General Counsel and a Member of the Chancellor's Senior Policy Staff at The University of Alabama System, where he also taught and advised on international initiatives. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Association of American Rhodes Scholars and is responsible for the Rhodes Scholarship selection process in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana. A corporate and business transactions lawyer by training, Mr. Smith attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar from 1973-1976 and helped launch in 2012 the Global Innovation Alliance to promote scientific innovation and economic development. He was appointed by Queen Elizabeth II in 2013 to the Order of St. John, an Order of Chivalry of the British Crown with historical roots in the 11^th century Knights Hospitaller and Knights of Malta. 

The Ralph Smith Group LLC (www.ralphsmithgroup.com), provides strategic consulting services to business and higher education.

About Jones Walker
Jones Walker LLP, with more than 380 attorneys, provides a comprehensive range of legal services to a national and international corporate client base through offices in Alabama, Arizona, California, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, Ohio, and Texas.

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