Richard Smith Bio

Richard Vernon Smith, a partner in our San Francisco office and a member of our Global Mergers & Acquisitions and Private Equity Group, specializes in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, corporate law and securities law. With more than 40 years of experience, Richard has advised on more than 600 M&A transactions and has represented clients in all aspects of mergers and acquisitions transactions involving public and private companies, corporate and securities matters, corporate governance, takeover defense and activist defense. He co-authored the 1,500-page book “Mergers and Acquisitions of Privately Held Companies: Analysis, Forms and Agreements,” published by Bloomberg Law. Richard also has represented clients in a wide range of SEC-registered, underwritten and privately placed stock and debt offerings, and he has assisted companies in connection with issuer tender offers (both equity and debt), recapitalizations, restructurings, share repurchase programs, and rights offerings. He regularly represents clients in the preparation and filing of periodic SEC reports, proxy statements and Williams Act reports. He also advises clients on compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 and JOBS Act; reporting under and compliance with Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; disclosure and reporting issues; sales of restricted securities and sales of securities by insiders; universal proxy cards; and NYSE/NASDAQ rule compliance and inquiries.