Reflections on one of the best lawyers I’ve ever known

By: Ed Flink

I first met Favor R. Smith in June 2004. I was introduced to Favor by my good friend, attorney Charley Walsh, who by that time was referring me and my law firm Flink Smith some of his cases and working with him on his files. At the time, I was as Walsh said then, his “fresh legs”. Charley thought that Favor and I would be a good match and that Favor would also like working with me and our firm. 

Favor and I met at the “Law Office” as he had stenciled on the exterior glass door at what was then 159 Main St. where Flink Maswick Law PLLC now has its offices. That was also how they answered the phone, “Law Office”, at Favor’s firm. 



The Law Office was then in a Chalet-style office building with a blue tin roof and tan stucco siding, which had a 1960’s/1970’s look and feel to it, right down to the shag carpeting. After meeting in his actual office with him sitting at the desk, where I sat for a time after we joined forces, and Jamey now sits, we moved the meeting to the Cottage. We did not end the meeting until five hours later, and as Walsh predicted, we became fast friends and quickly hit it off.

By that time, of course, Favor was already famous for his representation of many clients, in all sorts of cases and matters including his fellow Harley riders who were charged for slowing things down on the Northway for, by recollection, a protest against the helmet laws. 

As our discussions continued into the summer, the association became a merger of our law practices. Ellen and I bought the building which in addition to the Law Office, housed a real estate office next to the law office on the first floor, which is still the case now, and two apartments on the ground floor. It became another office for Flink Smith Law, at that time based in Albany and just made sense as an expansion of the firm. Flink Smith had already been doing a lot of work in the North Country even before we started to work with Charley and his clients dating back to my work as a trial lawyer for several insurance companies in the North Country, and for some business folks in Lake Placid. I joked with Favor that when we decided to open an office in Lake Placid, we were looking for attorneys who were either named Flink or Smith, and that it was easier to find a Smith. That is not the first time I’ve told that anecdote.

To the point about Favor, however, he was as I say one of the best attorneys I ever knew, and it was a privilege to work with him towards the end of his stellar career. When you hired Favor, you had someone who would do anything he could ethically within the bounds of the law and decency to represent his clients and get the best possible result, no matter what. He did not worry about anyone, but his clients’ rights, and was always willing to let the chips fall where they may. If there was someone who did not understand that, and chose to resent or speak ill of him, so be it. In the end, he was dedicated to his clients always and served them and the community well. He helped a lot of people out of a lot of jams, and got excellent results for his clients by doing the hard work and good thinking. He did not curry favor (no pun intended) with anyone or use (or abuse) his influence.

He was a lawyer’s lawyer, treating everyone with respect and earning folks’ trust.

When Ellen and I visited Favor this past April, it was tough to see him in a wheelchair and so physically limited, but his mind was 100% clear. We even joked about the fact that while he had some problems with memory, or senior moments like most of us do, he was still able to think clearly and the twinkle in his eye was still there revealing that beautiful mind that was still working pretty darn well.

Favor, may you ever rest in external peace. You made a huge difference for a lot of people. You are truly remembered, and will live on in the hearts and minds of many, many people.