A native of Sumter, Smith graduated from Johnson C. Smith University and later earned his law degree from the South Carolina State College School of Law. Smith would enter private practice in Greenville after a stint in the Army. He served as an attorney for the NAACP Defense Fund, where he concentrated on ending segregation through the courtroom. Smith won the landmark Peterson vs. the City of Greenville case, which branded the segregation of public accommodations illegal. He also sued Clemson University for its refusal to admit black students, which led the way for former Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gannt to become the first African American admitted to Clemson. Smith was the attorney who defended the students who protested segregation through a series of sit-ins at segregated lunch counters and in public places such as the Greenville County library.

Smith emerged as co-chairman of the Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce Bi-Racial and Community Relations Committee, which oversaw the peaceful desegregation of Greenville. Smith's dedication to the public good defined his legal career. He was the senior attorney at Legal Services, which helps indigent clients. He was later named a Family Court judge, and Smith would finish his career helping families.

Smith was elected to the S.C. Black Hall of Fame for his fearless work during the civil rights movement. WJMZ salutes Judge Willie T. Smith, a pillar of the civil rights movement who shaped Black history.