Lori S. Smith Partner

Lori Smith, the immediate past Chair of the firm's 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 Covetrus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVET), a global leader in animal health technology and services, in connection with its strategic investment in Veterinary Study Groups, Inc., a leading provider of peer-to-peer learning experiences for veterinary practice leaders

• Represented True Global Ventures in connection with sale of its interest in SharesPost as part of the May 2020 SharesPost/Forge Global merger

• Represented a regional health insurer in its joint venture with two major hospital systems to form a Medicare Advantage insurance company

• Represented a public distributor of dental and healthcare products in the creation of a new entity with a national dental supplies provider in order to better serve state dental association members with an online-only option for purchasing dental supplies

• Represented the strategic investment arm of a health insurance company with respect to its participation in a $33 million Series B financing round by Pager, Inc.
• Represented a regional, nationally-affiliated health insurance company with respect to its participation, along with other health insurers, in a joint venture with a non-profit generic pharmaceutical company, helping to reduce the costs of certain generic drugs for participating plan members and other consumers
• Advised Petabyte Technology, a veterinary practice management software company, in securing $8M in Series A Financing
• 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

Recognition & Involvement

Lori was previously a member of the MIT Enterprise Forum and served as a member of the Board of the New York Chapter. She was also previously a member of the MIT Enterprise Forum global board. In addition, she serves on the Public Policy Committee Advisory Council for the Angel Capital Association and is a member of the New York Advisory Board of Astia, a not-for-profit organization that promotes and accelerates women-led businesses.

Lori is also involved with Women United in Philanthropy, a giving circle of nearly 100 women in Bergen County, NJ, which makes available grants to local organizations to help women in need due to economic hardships, abuse and other issues. 

In 2010, The New York Enterprise Report named Lori one of “The Best Accountants and Attorneys for Growing Businesses.” In 2008 – 2010, Chambers U.S. named her as one of New York’s leading lawyers in the technology industry.