name

Scott Smith

Partner
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Hanson Bridgett LLP

California-Northern, USA
    Local Time: Saturday 04:05

Practice Expertise

  • Sustainable Business and Impact Investing
  • Corporate
  • Financial Services
  • Cannabis Law

Areas of Practice

  • Cannabis Law
  • Corporate
  • Financial Services
  • Sustainable Business and Impact Investing
  • Business Disruption Strategies
  • Private Investment Funds
  • Tax
  • Technology
  • Wine Law
  • View More

WSG Practice Industries

WSG Leadership

  • Mergers & Acquisitions Group - Group Leader
  • DealMaker Group - Member
  • Banking & Finance Group - Member
  • Private Equity Group - Member
  • WSG Coronavirus Task Force Group - Member
  • View More

Profile

Scott is a partner in the Corporate Group at Hanson Bridgett. Scott’s practice focuses on institutional investors and private equity matters, mergers and acquisitions, impact investing, secured and unsecured lending, and tax.

Scott has extensive experience representing large institutional investors in a variety of different matters. Scott has successfully closed hundreds of investment transactions ranging in size from ten million dollars to well in excess of a billion. Scott has experience with virtually every fund type and asset class found on the market, including private equity, venture, hedge, real estate, energy and infrastructure, debt funds and impact funds. He has represented numerous institutional investors in connection with direct and co-investments, secondary transactions, separate accounts, custody and securities lending agreements, real estate transactions and a variety of ancillary agreements related to investment activities. Scott’s clients in this area include public and private retirement systems of all sizes, universities and endowments, family offices, high net-worth individuals and corporate/strategic investors.

While focused on investor-side representation, Scott has also sat on the other side of the table and represented a number of private investment funds. Scott’s focus in this area has been in the impact space and he has worked with many of the leading impact funds in the U.S., including Investors’ Circle, TBL Capital, the Patient Capital Collaborative, Good Capital, Better Ventures and Mindful Capital. For these clients and others Scott handles fund formation, governance, investment transactions, mergers, acquisitions and other exits, and fund restructurings. Scott has also represented private funds in the investment and lending areas, handling numerous debt and equity transactions to a successful completion.

Scott’s tax background enables him to advise investors and business in connection with a variety of different deal structure and related tax issues. His practice often involves the preparation and negotiation of complex limited partnership and limited liability company agreements. He has extensive experience with partnership tax rules and the drafting of complex allocation and distribution provisions in a variety of different contexts. His clients in this area include some of the same institutional investors referenced above, and large real estate owners and developers as well.

Finally, for many of Scott’s clients he serves as outside general counsel representing them in connection with a broad array of equity financings, loan transactions, day-to-day corporate and general contract matters as well as M&A transactions.

Bar Admissions

  • California
  • Texas

Education
LL.M., University of Houston (1996)
J.D., University of Houston (1995)
M.A., University of Southern California (1994)
B.A., California State University, Fresno (1990)

Areas of Practice

  • Cannabis Law
  • Corporate
  • Financial Services
  • Sustainable Business and Impact Investing
  • Business Disruption Strategies
  • Private Investment Funds
  • Tax
  • Technology
  • Wine Law

Professional Career

Professional Associations
  • Bar Association of San Francisco
  • State Bar of California, Partnerships & Limited Liability Companies Committee
  • Association For Corporate Growth
  • Investors' Circle


Articles

"The Main Street Lending Program: How it Works and Who is it For?," co-author, Business Disruption Strategies Law Alert (April 2020)
"UPDATE: CARES Act: Paycheck Protection Loans and Eligibility for Loan Forgiveness," co-author, Business Disruption Strategies Law Alert (April 2020)
"CARES Act: Paycheck Protection Loans and Eligibility for Loan Forgiveness," co-author, Business Disruption Strategies Law Alert (March 2020)
"Your Loan Is In or Near Default—Here's What You Should Do," The Alliance of Chief Executives (March 2009)
"Is it time for your business to go green?" North Bay Business Journal (July 2008)
"Considering Venture Capital For Your Business?" SDForum News (April/May 2007)
"SEC Proposes Significant New Rules," San Francisco Business Times (February 2007)
"Negotiating a Venture Capital Term Sheet," SDForum News (February/March 2006)
"The California Tax Amnesty Program—With deadlines for participation looming, what you should know before deciding to do so," Business Brief (March 2005)

Blogs

HB Briefly

Briefly is designed to provide readers with updates on the latest litigation developments in California. Our focus is on general litigation as well as issues surrounding class actions, products liability, discovery, privacy, cybersecurity, and the professional practice of law.

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