Lawyer Bio : John F. Sandy Smith
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John F. Sandy Smith
Atlanta
Sandy Smith is a Partner in Womble Carlyle’s Corporate and Securities Practice Group, leading teams of specialists to help clients plan and efficiently achieve their business objectives. As a “deal attorney,” Sandy has a diverse national practice managing, negotiating and completing corporate and financial transactions for both private and public businesses in various industries including technology, manufacturing and distribution, healthcare, staffing, retail and service, hospitality and restaurant, venture/investment and holding companies.
Sandy provides proactive and full-service capabilities for unique business plans and goals. Specific experience includes:
- Business planning, strategy and execution
- Sales and acquisitions
- Mergers, stock purchases and stock swaps
- Recapitalizations and distributions
- Public and private debt financing
- Board advice and corporate governance
- Public offerings and follow-on transactions
- Prospectuses, offering memoranda and proxy statements
- Venture, investment and holding company formation, investments and regulation
- Spin-offs and roll-ups
- Transnational transactions
- Going private transactions
- Workouts and reorganizations
- Employment agreements (including golden parachutes), severance plans, stock option plans and other incentive plans
- Investment advisor and company formation and regulation
- Money management and broker-dealer requirements
- Corporate
Sandy has extensive experience in an advisory role for boards of directors regarding corporate governance, independent director duties and the fiduciary duties of directors and management.
Sandy is committed to community service. Sandy serves on the Board of Councilors of The Carter Center. An Emeritus member of the Stanford University Board of Trustees, he also serves on the Advisory Board of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) and chairs the Advisory Board of the Institute for Research in the Social Sciences (IRiSS). He also serves on the boards of Odyssey, the Paideia School, The National Kidney Foundation of Georgia, Prevent Blindness Georgia and The Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School. Sandy is a member of the MBA Advisory Board and has served as lecturer and executive in residence at The Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College and the Goizueta Business School at Emory University. He also served on the President’s Counsel of the Woodruff Arts Center, Alumni Board of Governors at The Westminster Schools and Leadership Atlanta.
Sandy is married to Maria Susana Gancedo. They have four children and live in Ansley Park. Most of their time is dedicated to their children. They like to travel particularly to South America, which is where Maria grew up and Sandy’s business takes him on occasion. Sandy’s personal interests include golf, music, fly fishing, architecture and the outdoors.
Contact
- (404) 962-7574
- (404) 879-2974
Professional Activities
Bar Associations: State Bar of Georgia; American Bar Association.
Admitted to bar 1984, Georgia; 2010, District of Columbia.
Education
B.A., 1978, Religious Studies and English with Honors in Humanities, Stanford University; M.B.A., 1981, The Amos Tuck School of Business Administration, Dartmouth College; J.D., 1984, Duke University.
Publications
- Author, "Daily Income Fund, Inc. v. Fox – No Demand Requirement for Section 36(b) Advisory Suits Gives Rise to Potential Abuses," 12 The Securities Regulation Law Journal 299, 1985.
- Author, "The Public Trust Doctrine and National Audubon Society v. Superior Court: A Hard Case Makes Bad Law, or the Consistent Evolution of California Water Rights," 6 Glendale Law Review 201, 1984.
Presentations
Professional Speaking and Lecturing
- Lecturer on Fiduciary Duties of Directors and Management, The Amos Tuck School, Dartmouth College
- Lecturer on Mergers and Acquisitions, The Goizueta Business School, Emory University
- Speaker on IPO Preparation and Mergers and Acquisitions, The Financial Executive Institute
- Executive in Residence, The Amos Tuck School, Dartmouth College
- SEC Directors College, Stanford University
Sandy on diversity & his practice
Additional Information
Honors and Affiliations
- Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business – Listed as a top lawyer in Corporate M&A 2009, 2010 and 2011
- Best Lawyers in America, Listed as a top lawyer in Mergers & Acquisitions Law, 2012.
- Board of Trustees, Stanford University, Emeritus member
- Advisory Board, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy and Research (SIEPR)
- Chair, Advisory Board, Institute for Research in the Social Sciences (IRiSS).
- Board of Councilors, The Carter Center
- Member, Leadership Atlanta
- Founding Associate, The Martin Luther King Jr. Papers Project
- Board of Directors, MBA Advisory Board, The Amos Tuck School, Dartmouth College
- Board of Trustees, Columbia Seminary
- Board of Directors, Founder and Chair, The Collaborative Education Partnership
- Board of Directors and Vice President, The National Kidney Foundation of Georgia
- Board of Trustees, The Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School
- Board of Directors and Chair, Prevent Blindness Georgia
- Board of Trustees and Treasurer, The Paideia School
- Board of Governors and President, Stanford Associates
- Alumni Board of Governors, The Westminster Schools
- President’s Counsel, The Woodruff Arts Center
- Emerging Technology Counsel, The Woodruff Arts Center
- International Council of Shopping Centers, National Legal Council
Languages
Fluent in Spanish. Conversant in Portuguese and Italian.
Areas of Proficiency
- Corporate
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Securities
- Workouts, Reorganizations & Divestitures
- Business Planning
- Director's & Officer's Fiduciary Duties and Liability
- Corporate Governance
- Venture Investments
- Holding Companies
- International
Honors
Practice & Industry Teams
Articles
News
- Womble Carlyle Featured in Atlanta Business Chronicle
- Sandy Smith Pens Articles for Silicon Valley, Atlanta Newspapers
- Sandy Smith Quoted in E-Commerce Times Article on HP
- Womble Carlyle Opens Silicon Valley Office
- Womble Carlyle Hosts Leadership Atlanta
- 125 Womble Carlyle Attorneys Ranked Among The Best Lawyers in America 2012
- Sandy Smith Discusses Sale of Arby’s to Roark Capital Group
- Sandy Smith Discusses Entrepreneurship in Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- Womble Carlyle Georgia Attorneys, Practices Make Chambers USA 2011 Rankings
- Womble Carlyle Hosts Social Media Thought Leader Event (Video)
- Chicago Sun-Times Quotes Sandy Smith on Groupon, Farmville Deals
- Womble Carlyle Attorneys, Staff Attend MCCA CLE Expo
- 38 Womble Carlyle Attorneys Named to 2011 Chambers USA Rankings
- E-Commerce Times Interviews Sandy Smith Regarding Proposed Groupon IPO
- Apple Makes Right Move on Jobs' Leave: A Detailed Succession Plan Isn't Necessary
- Sandy Smith Moderates Panel at Stanford Economic Summit
- Sandy Smith Quoted In Major Article on Merger Woes
- Sandy Smith Discusses Facebook Stock Offering with Atlanta Business Chronicle
- Consumers’ Info Valuable: Companies Shouldn’t Be Only Ones to Benefit from Personal, Private Data
- Sandy Smith Discusses Educational Efforts to Help Atlanta Students Achieve
- Sandy Smith Pens Article on International Corporate Governance
- Sandy Smith Named to Carter Center's Board of Councilors
- Chambers USA honors 33 Womble Carlyle attorneys as “Leaders in their Field”
- Womble Carlyle Corporate Team Completes Public Stock Offering for Transcend Services, Inc.
- Womble Carlyle Completes Major Acquisition Deal For Private Equity Client
- Senior Corporate & Securities Partner Joins Womble Carlyle's Atlanta Office With His Team
Publications
Lawyer Articles
- Insider Trading Still an Issue: People Continue to Fall for Old Scheme that Leads to Jail Time. Greed, Arrogance Hang at Center of the Trap.
- Goldman Sachs Will Survive Saga
- Murkiness of openness: H-P controversy shows how tricky corporate transparency can be. Public companies can learn from the missteps
Client Alerts
Case Studies
Events
- Recap: Womble Carlyle Hosts Tom Cunningham of Federal Reserve Bank in Speaker Series Event
- Womble Carlyle Hosts Successful Social Media Luncheon
- Womble Carlyle Thought Leader Series: Energizing Georgia
- Recap: Womble Carlyle Hosts Tom Cunningham of Federal Reserve Bank
- Womble Carlyle’s Sandy Smith to Speak at LAVA, The Los Angeles Venture Association Conference
- Former Microsoft Marketing Leader Scott Oki to Headline Womble Carlyle’s Thought Leader Speaker Series