A New Chapter, Built Together: Adam Highsmith, '27

For Adam Highsmith, ’27, the decision to attend law school was years in the making.

After earning his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of South Florida in 2006, Highsmith built a career in management before moving into real estate. He earned his Florida real estate license in 2014 and later became a licensed mortgage loan originator, developing particular interest in helping first-time homebuyers navigate the complicated process of purchasing a home.

Yet, law school was always somewhere in the back of his mind.

“I first considered law school after finishing my undergraduate degree, but at the time I wanted to get some professional experience first,” Highsmith said. “As the years went by, I got busy with work and life, and law school was something that always seemed to stay on the back burner.”

Then, through his involvement with the affordable housing committee of his local realtor association, the idea began to take shape again.

Highsmith served on the committee for about three years, eventually becoming vice chair and then chair. The experience introduced him to the intersection of housing, financing and public policy. He attended the Florida Housing Coalition’s annual conference and found himself increasingly interested in the role law could play in addressing housing issues.

“I was fascinated by the discussions surrounding housing policy, development, financing, and the different ways law and public policy affect the availability and affordability of housing,” he said. He began to see a way to combine his years of experience in real estate with a legal career. His wife, Kyujin, encouraged him, too. “She thought practicing law would fit my personality well and that it would be something I would be proud of pursuing,” he said.

So Highsmith took the leap. His path to Mercer Law was unconventional from the beginning.

When Highsmith was deciding where to attend law school, he and Kyujin were living in South Korea. Before they were married, he had promised that if they had a child, they would move to her home country so she could be close to her family. That meant a traditional law school campus visit was out of the question. Instead, he researched schools online, watched videos, talked with attorneys and spoke with admissions offices.

Georgia appealed to him for several reasons, including its real estate practice. Unlike in Florida, where he had worked, Georgia attorneys play an important role in real estate closings. Mercer also had a strong reputation among the Georgia attorneys he consulted, and Macon’s proximity to Atlanta made sense for a family that expected to continue traveling between the United States and South Korea. The people he encountered in Mercer’s admissions office made an impression, as well. “I ultimately chose Mercer sight unseen,” he said. “Looking back now as a 3L, it worked out better than I could have hoped.”

As a post-traditional student, Highsmith admits he wondered how he would fit in. He remembers sitting in orientation and hearing Dean Karen Sneddon discuss the demographics of the Class of 2027. “The average age was 24,” he said. “I remember thinking, ‘Wow, do I feel old.’”

It didn’t take long for that feeling to disappear. Highsmith found a welcoming community and developed friendships he expects will last long beyond graduation. He also discovered that his professional experience gave him a valuable perspective in the classroom.

Classes such as Contracts, Property, Real Estate Transactions and Employment Law often connected directly to situations he had encountered during his career. “Sometimes a legal concept becomes easier to understand when you can connect it to something you’ve encountered in the real world,” he said.

His experience has also reinforced how much he values the opportunity he has been given. Returning to school meant stepping away from an established career and giving up income. But Highsmith knew the investment extended beyond himself. His son was only nine months old when he began law school, and the family had no relatives nearby to help. “I understood when I started that this was a significant commitment for my entire family, so I try not to take the opportunity for granted,” he said.

The adjustment was particularly difficult during his first year. The workload, cold calls and constant preparation were challenging enough. Balancing those demands with being a husband and new father added another dimension.

“There were plenty of nights when schoolwork stretched late into the evening and plenty of times when my wife had to carry more of the responsibilities at home because I had an exam, paper, or other deadline approaching,” he said. Neither he nor Kyujin fully understood how demanding that first year would be. “We learned how to adjust and work through it together,” he said.

Now in his third year, Highsmith is getting practical experience that has reinforced his interest in real estate law while also exposing him to an entirely different area of practice. He works part time for a busy residential real estate attorney in Macon, where he also worked during the summer. Despite his years in real estate and mortgage lending, the experience has shown him how much he did not know about the legal side of a transaction. He has worked with title abstracts, deeds, payoff information, closing documents and title issues involving estates and other ownership questions. “It has given me a much greater appreciation for how much work happens behind the scenes to make sure a real estate closing goes smoothly,” he said.

At the same time, Highsmith is completing an externship with the JAG office at Robins Air Force Base. His father served 20 years in the Air Force, and Highsmith grew up on military bases. Although he never pursued military service himself, the externship has allowed him to explore a path he had considered at different points in his life. It has also broadened his understanding of the legal profession. He has seen not only the work of uniformed JAG officers but also civilian attorneys working in areas including labor, environmental and contract law. “It has been very different from my real estate work, which is exactly what has made the experience so valuable,” he said.

Highsmith’s journey through law school has also been shaped by a loss. His father, Stan Highsmith, unexpectedly passed away during the summer following Highsmith’s first year of law school. His father had been especially proud of his son for returning to school later in life and was excited to see what the next chapter would bring. During Highsmith’s first year, Stan and his wife Sharon traveled to Mercer for Family Day. “I’m very grateful that he had the opportunity to visit the law school and see me begin this journey before he passed away,” Highsmith said.

His father also helped spark another unusual interest in Highsmith’s life: auctioneering. Outside of his career, Stan was a licensed auctioneer who occasionally volunteered at charity auctions. He encouraged Adam to earn his own license, thinking it could complement his real estate work. The two even talked about opening a small auction house someday.

They never turned it into a full-time business, but they did work together at several charity auctions. “We had a great time doing them, and those are some very good memories I have with him,” Highsmith said.

Today, Highsmith enjoys playing golf and spending time with his family, but much of his focus is on finishing his final year and preparing for the career he has been working toward for so long. And when he reflects on the decision to return to school, he comes back to a simple question. “Where do I want to be three years from now?”

Three years, he points out, will pass regardless. “For me, I could continue doing what I was already doing and still be wondering about law school three years later, or I could take the chance and have a law degree at the end of those three years.”

As graduation approaches, Highsmith knows the decision was never his alone. His wife supported a dream that had lingered for years. His young son is growing up alongside his law school experience. His father was there to see the journey begin. “Going to law school wasn’t just my decision; it was a family decision,” Highsmith said.

And as he prepares to begin the next chapter of his career, he gives particular credit to Kyujin. “I would not be approaching graduation without her encouragement, patience, and support.”