Lori S. Smith

New York

White and Williams LLP
7 Times Square, Suite 2900
New York, NY
10036-6524

Tel: 212.714.3075

Email: smithl@whiteandwilliams.com
Web: www.whiteandwilliams.com

Professional Biography

Lori Smith, Chair of White and Williams’ Business Department, is also a member of the firm’s Healthcare and Food and Beverage Groups and previously served as Co-Chair of the Corporate and Securities Group. Lori’s practice focuses on representation of foreign and domestic companies at all stages of development from formation and early and growth stage companies to multi-national public companies, as well as angel, venture capital and private equity investors. Her practice spans diverse industries including, technology, media, fashion and textiles, financial services, food and beverage, sports, specialty chemicals, insurance, healthcare and digital health. Lori has more than 30 years of experience handling corporate and commercial transactional work for her clients, as well as acting as outside general counsel managing all of their other ongoing legal needs. She has significant experience representing emerging technology companies and venture capital and angel investors in connection with early and growth stage financings and strategic transactions.

Lori represents public and private companies in the negotiation of mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, equity and debt financings, private placements, strategic alliances, partnerships and joint ventures. She also advises companies on various legal issues impacting their ongoing business operations, such as governance issues, shareholder and board of directors matters, operational agreements such as consulting, licensing, manufacturing, distribution and supply agreements, employment matters, protection of intellectual property rights and the transitional issues that arise in the transfer of management and control in closely held corporations.

Lori frequently speaks at events focused on technology, investment and deal making in New York. She has moderated or participated as a panelist in programs for the MIT Enterprise Forum and eLab NYC, and participated as a judge for business plan and pitch competitions. She has spoken on such diverse topics as what investors and buyers look for in evaluating a business plan or target, preparing a company for private equity or venture capital investment or sale, unleashing business growth through change management, and exploring mergers and acquisitions, IPOs and alternative exit or liquidity strategies.

Lori previously served as Co-Chair of the firm’s Women’s Initiative, which works to enhance the professional and personal development of the firm’s women lawyers.

Prior to joining White and Williams, Lori was a partner at Sedgwick LLP. In addition she was previously a partner at Goodwin Procter LLP.

Representative Matters

  • Represented iNovia Capital in a multimillion dollar Series B investment in Boosted, Inc.
  • Represented Stadium Goods, a streetwear and sneaker resale store and e-commerce site, in its multimillion dollar sale to Farfetch Limited, a publicly-traded global technology platform for the luxury fashion industry
  • Represented Stadium Goods, a streetwear and sneaker resale store and e-commerce site, in its backing from LVMH Luxury Ventures
  • Represented Horizon Healthcare Services in connection with a strategic investment in Pager, a company that provides a mobile based application for connecting patients with healthcare to address their urgent care needs
  • Represented a data analytics company that provides proprietary consumer intelligence to major luxury brands in its sale to a global communications agency
  • Represented the strategic investment arm of a life and disability insurer in connection with its investment in a healthcare IT company that leverages clinical diagnostic data and AI to develop advanced analytics solutions for the healthcare, pharmaceutical and life science markets
  • Represented iNovia Capital in multimillion dollar Series A and seed investments of ROSS Intelligence
  • Represented the strategic investment arm of a life and disability insurer in connection with an investment in a special purpose acquisition vehicle which acquired a controlling interest in a provider of trade credit risk management technology solutions
  • Represented J9 Technologies, Inc., an IT product and services company, specializing in Business Service Management and Application Performance Management, in its sale to Axxiome Group
  • Counseled the strategic investment arm of a life and disability insurer through a Series C preferred equity round for a co-working space company
  • Assisted client in providing a secured, tranched bridge loan to a SaaS-based technology company delivering online and mobile interactive health management platforms

The Corporate & Securities Law Practice

The Corporate and Securities Group provides strategic solutions to the complex legal and business issues facing clients while helping them achieve their business objectives. Clients range from entrepreneurs seeking counsel on selecting the correct business form and raising capital, to established companies looking to grow through acquisitions and form strategic alliances, to private equity firms requiring assistance in the acquisition or divestiture of portfolio companies. We advise clients on transactional, regulatory and compliance issues, as well as representation in litigation and enforcement matters, and provide advice to publicly traded companies and their boards of directors on Sarbanes-Oxley, Dodd-Frank and other corporate governance matters. Our experienced and multidisciplinary team is focused on providing practical, business-oriented advice in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

We assist clients in selecting the proper legal entity in which to conduct business and draft the necessary documentation, including corporate formation documents, limited liability company operating agreements, limited partnership or general partnership agreements and shareholder agreements. We are adept in negotiating, drafting and reviewing agreements of all types, including employment, distribution, manufacturing and licensing across multiple industries. We assist clients with transactions that provide access to debt and equity capital through the sale of stock, partnership or limited liability company interests, or through the issuance of debt to institutional lenders. Our clients rely on us to provide strategic counsel in negotiations and to advise them with respect to reviewing, negotiating and closing commercial loan transactions. When our clients seek opportunities to expand, whether through partnership or strategic alliance or by making strategic acquisitions, we provide the legal guidance and draft and negotiate the necessary documentation to facilitate these transactions. We also assist our clients with understanding and complying with the myriad federal, state and local regulations that apply to their businesses.

About White and Williams

Founded in 1899, White and Williams LLP is a global-reaching, multi-practice law firm with over 240 lawyers in ten offices. We represent public and private companies in an array of industries, including education, energy and utilities, financial services, food and beverage, healthcare, insurance, life sciences, manufacturing, private equity/venture capital, real estate, staffing and business services, and technology.

White and Williams has a history of excellent client service and success in the courtroom as well as in arbitration. Our lawyers have earned national recognition for their trial prowess, representing clients in high-stakes, complex litigation in both federal and state courts. Our litigators handle shareholder and partnership disputes, professional liability matters, healthcare litigation, class actions, intellectual property disputes, insurance subrogation matters, insurance coverage and reinsurance disputes, and product liability and toxic tort litigation. Our lawyers also have extensive experience arbitrating international and domestic commercial disputes as well as insurance and reinsurance matters.

White and Williams business lawyers represent foreign and domestic companies at all stages of development from start-ups to large multi-national public and private companies as well as private equity, venture capital and angel investors. Our lawyers are well versed in aspects of transactional work as well as the ongoing day to day legal needs of our clients, often serving as general outside counsel on regulatory and compliance issues, labor and employment and employee compensation issues, entity formation, licensing and other intellectual property matters, cybersecurity and data privacy, commercial contracts, corporate governance, real estate and real estate finance matters. We handle sophisticated public and private mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, strategic alliances, public and private debt and equity financings, and bankruptcy and restructuring matters.