Gayle Shor Goldsmith

Biography

Gayle held her father, Earl J. Goldsmith, Jr. in high esteem (University of Cincinnati, College of Law 1950 and AV-rated through Martindale-Hubbell*) and was honored to work with him from the time she was in high school, was sworn into the practice of law in Ohio (1989), and until his death in 2002. Gayle always thought she would work in the field of environmental law, however, while her father was alive, she worked with him handling criminal and civil litigation, domestic relations, real estate law, estate planning/estate administration and was appointed as an Arbiter and Chair of Arbitration Panels for Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas. She was a strong environmental advocate on the side.

Highlights of Her Early Career:

• Received her Juris Doctorate (Toledo University, Toledo, Ohio) in 1989. She was admitted to the Ohio Bar and the US District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.
• 1990, Gayle and Earl represented a family whose son was killed in a horrendous car crash where they won a judgment in excess of $1 Million.
• In the early 1990s, Gayle was nominated, and appointed by the City Manager to the City of Cincinnati Environmental Advisory Council.
• In the mid-1990s, the City of Cincinnati formed the City of Cincinnati Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BIKE/PAC) and asked Gayle to chair the new committee. Under Gayle’s chair of the committee, the City of Cincinnati became known as a “Bicycle Friendly City”.
• A client (who was also a long-time friend since childhood) was killed when a tractor-trailer ran a red light. He was in ICU for a week before he died. It was a devastating crash for him and all who knew him (his family and his friends). After filing a wrongful death lawsuit, the defendant settled the case for the policy limits of $1,000,000.

After Gayle’s move to North Carolina, the Highlights of Her Career include:

• In 1999, Gayle was admitted to the North Carolina Bar and later to the US District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
• In 1999, Gayle became a Certified Mediator.
• In 2000, Gayle represented a client who was seriously injured in the Lowes Motor Speedway Pedestrian Bridge Collapse Case. A lawsuit was filed and the case was settled for an undisclosed amount.
• In 2010, Gayle was admitted to the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, an exclusive forum for those attorneys who have obtained jury awards or settlements of One Million Dollars ($1M) or more. (Less than 1% of U.S. lawyers are members.)
• Gayle represented a 7-year-old boy in Boone, with Co-counsel, Adrienne Blocker, who was swept into an underground sewage pipe after a flash flood while he was at his sister’s birthday party in Boone, NC. A lawsuit was filed and the case was settled for an undisclosed amount.
• In 2018, Gayle was awarded the Outstanding Women in Business Award/Triad Business Journal.
• In 2019, Gayle was in Marquis Who’s Who and in 2020, she was in Morning Star Promotions of Top 500 Professionals.

Highlights of Her Environmental Advocacy:

• Environmental Advocate/Activist since the late 1970s.
• Received both a Master of Environmental Science Degree (Miami University, Oxford, Ohio) and her Master of Environmental Law Degree (Vermont Law School where she graduated Summa Cum Laude) in 2015.
• Has been on many environmental boards (governmental and non-profit) since 1990.
• Cofounder and current chair of NC Climate Solutions Coalition.
• Board Member of the International Human Rights Consortium where she is the Director of Environmental Stewardship.
• Co-founder of Temple Emanuel Environmental Movement (TEEM) which won a national award for TEEM’s monthly environmental documentary film/speaker series at Temple Emanuel in Winston-Salem. As a result, thousands of people have raised their awareness concerning environmental issues and taken action.
• Past Board Member on PEA (Piedmont Environmental Alliance).
• Past Board Member and President of Yadkin RiverKeeper and recipient of Yadkin Riverkeeper’s “Legacy Award”.
• Appointed in 2021 by the Forsyth County Commissioners to Forsyth County Environmental Assistance and Pollution Protection Board.
• Appointed in 2021 by the Forsyth County Commissioners to Forsyth County Industrial Facilities and Pollution Control Financing Authority.
• Gayle has been working on reducing her environmental and carbon footprint and has been working with her friend and leadership coach, Ana Tampanna, on a business called, A Smaller Footprint. The following is her banner:

*AV®, AV Preeminent®, Martindale-Hubbell Distinguished and Martindale-Hubbell Notable are certification marks used under license in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell® is the facilitator of a peer-review rating process. Ratings reflect the anonymous opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ fall into two categories – legal ability and general ethical standards.