Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough welcome Smith as managing partner

Richard Smith, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP

New York, NY Corporate attorney Richard Smith has moved his practice to Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP and will lead the New York office as managing partner.

Smith will practice with the firm’s mergers and acquisitions team. His practice focuses on corporate transactions, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, joint ventures, and capital markets in a variety of industries. He has also advised clients on advisory engagements, fairness opinions, and M&A-related disputes and arbitrations.

He joins the firm from Reed Smith where he was a partner in New York, and he also has been with Allen & Overy and Sullivan & Cromwell. He previously headed Americas M&A and Investment Banking Legal at Barclays and was associate general counsel at Goldman Sachs. He earned his Juris Doctor at Duke Law School and has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Haverford College.

“We are pleased Richard has chosen to bring his considerable experience to Nelson Mullins, and we welcome the skills and knowledge he offers our team and clients,” said Michael Hollingsworth II, co-chair of the Mergers and Acquisitions team and acting managing partner for the N.Y. office.

Nelson Mullins entered the legal market in New York City with the opening of an office in 2015 and the addition of corporate attorneys experienced in financial services. The group supports the Corporate Group’s capital markets, private equity, public securities, real estate, mergers and acquisitions, and general corporate practices. The office, located at 280 Park Ave., includes five other attorneys, including: former JPMorgan Chase Bank Executive Director Steve Hantz, who is a partner; partner Kiran Lingam, who leads the firm’s FinTech practice and its New York emerging growth company and venture capital practice; partner Ashley Summer, who practices with the Intellectual Property Group (admitted only in South Carolina); of counsel Gillian Deutch, who has real estate and corporate finance experience and has been associated with other New York law firms; and of counsel Jennifer Hoffman, who practices in both South Carolina and New York and previously served as general counsel and chief compliance officer for a Chicago-based hedge fund.

Nelson Mullins’ M&A attorneys handle middle market and larger transactions ranging in size from less than $5 million to more than $1 billion. Clients include public and privately held companies, private equity groups, management groups, and investment banks.