Founder and Managing Attorney of LawVisory
Mr. Smith is a leading securities, corporate, tax, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) lawyer, chief compliance officer, chief risk officer, executive, and successful serial entrepreneur and executive with over 24 years of experience building and financing companies and strengthening the legal, risk management, and compliance functions of companies, including, among others, those in the digital asset, technology, investment fund, and financial services industry. He has also represented companies at all stages of maturity with their capital and debt raising efforts via private offerings and public offerings.
His achievements include, among others:
● Serving as the Founder and Managing Attorney of LawVisory, an international law firm focused, among other things, on securities, corporate, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, tax, energy,
and digital asset and mining law along with aiding its clients with litigation, arbitration and mediation matters. Under Mr. Smith’s leadership, this law firm has achieved, among other things:
○ an annual average 209% growth rate with similar dramatic
growth in profitability leading lawyers, consultants and
servicing clients around the globe;
○ Leading one of the largest plaintiff’s securities arbitrations in history; and
○ Assistance with the successful completion of many business
acquisitions; and
● He has served as Chief Legal Officer, Chief Compliance Officer and head of risk management for NorthRock Partners LLC. Under Mr. Smith’s leadership, this company experienced the following
extraordinary growth within twelve months:
○ The successful completion of a joint venture and expansion
intoEurope;
○ An increase in assets under management in the amount of $1
billion;
○ The successful acquisition of one of the largest hockey
agencies;
○ The creation of a global family office,
○ The establishment of an alternative investment firm; and
○ The creation of a successful, global risk management, legal
andcompliance function.
● Serving as the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer for RIA Compliance Firm, LLC, Mr. Smith created a highly profitable, national regulatory compliance firm along with launching a virtual on-line university teaching lawyers and compliance professionals about the most important aspects of investment advisory law and compliance.
● Mr. Smith has also served as the Chief Legal Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of Virtue Capital Management LLC; Chief Compliance Officer of Griffin Capital Company LLC and Research Affiliates LLC, a $250 billion asset manager, where he also served as Assistant General Counsel.
● Mr. Smith was Director of Compliance of Athene Asset Management LLC, the asset manager for Athene Insurance Company, where he helped to lead the company and its owner, Apollo Global Management, in successfully completing the acquisition of multiple insurance companies with approximately $82 billion of assets, paving the way towards a successful IPO;
● Mr. Smith also served as the Senior Counsel in charge of Legal and Compliance at The Rock Creek Group, a large hedge fund manager, where he worked with Dr. Alan Greenspan, members of the Kennedy family and former heads of the World Bank.
● Mr. Smith was Investigative Counsel to President Barak Obama and the U.S. Congress for the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission in Washington, DC, where he investigated the causes of the 2008 globalfinancial crisis. During this time, he successfully investigated the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, all of the largest investment banks, the largest commercial and mortgage banks, and the Federal Reserve. He also aided in the creation of the Financial
Crisis Inquiry Report15;
● Mr. Smith also served in the Director of Enforcement’s Office at the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C. while also aiding in several enforcement investigations; and
● Mr. Smith started his professional career as a tax lawyer and tax accountant practicing domestic, international, state and local tax lawand compliance with Deloitte and Crowe Horwath.
EDUCATION
Mr. Smith received his L.L.M., with distinction, in Securities & Financial Regulation from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, DC. He also graduated cum laude with a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Kentucky, where he also earned his Juris Doctor.
CREDENTIALS
● Investment Adviser Certified Compliance Professional (NRS Education), with an additional certification in Hedge Fund compliance
● Certified in Risk Management (International Institute of ProfessionalEducation and Research)
● Certified Regulatory and Compliance Professional FINRA Institute at Wharton
● California Real Estate Broker
