Lori Suzanne Smith

Lori Smith, who heads the New York Emerging Companies practice at Goodwin Procter, is generally regarded as one of the top attorneys in the space...and for very good reason. She is superb! I have used her for over 20 years, in connection with transactions in over 50 separate early stage companies, bo...th on the investor and the investee side of the table. While her overall knowledge, competence and connections are top notch, the thing that sets Lori apart is that unlike many (most?) other financing/corporate lawyers, she is a deal MAKER, not a deal BREAKER. On the positive side, she is simply the best lawyer for this kind of stuff in the entire New York region ("this stuff" being defined as entrepreneurial finance, either on behalf of an early stage company seeking funding, or an angel or venture capital investor putting funds into such a company.) Her practice is about evenly divided on both sides of the table, and she engenders complete respect from all the players. She also serves as the general counsel for New York Angels, the largest and most active organization of early stage business angels in the area. On the negative side, there are two: (1) She is top drawer, and charges as such. Although Goodwin's fees are pretty competitive with the other large NYC firms, this is not the place to go if you need something done on the cheap. Fast, yes; perfect, yes; but not cheap. (2) Although she has a heart of gold, complete integrity, and makes deals happen, she doesn't suffer fools gladly, and she can be prickly at times. For all her sterling qualities, a glad-handing rain-maker she ain't.