Barry A. Smith is a Shareholder and a senior member of the Firm’s Litigation Practice Group and Chairman of the Financial Institutions Practice Group. Mr. Smith focuses his practice on representing financial institutions and other business entities, both domestically and internationally. Mr. Smith has extensive experience in business and commercial litigation, creditors’ rights, real estate, loan workouts and restructuring, provisional remedies, receiverships, collections, and post-judgment enforcement. He also handles complex defense litigation including tort, contract law, and real estate.

Mr. Smith is a frequent speaker on creditor’s rights, enforcement of judgments, prejudgment remedies, workouts and turnarounds, wrongful termination, sexual harassment, business and banking fraud, arbitration, toxic waste, lender liability, legal ethics, probate estates and trusts, and collection strategy and tactics. He speaks at numerous seminars and conferences including the California Independent Bankers, Risk Management Association, Special Asset Managers Association, National Association of Chinese American Bankers, Western Bankers Association, Western Independent Bankers Association, the Los Angeles County Bar Associations, and the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Smith is AV Preeminent rated by his peers (5.0/5.0) as being at the highest level of excellence in ethical standards and professional ability. He has also been voted Best of the Best top 1% of America’s lawyers, and as America’s Most Honored Professional by The American Registry since 2017. Every year since 2013, American Lawyer Media, in conjunction with Martindale-Hubbell, has recognized him as a Southern California Top Rated Lawyer and a Top Rated Lawyer in the areas of Bank & Finance and Commercial Litigation, which appeared in Corporate Counsel and the Los Angeles Times.

Mr. Smith plays an active role in his community, serving as an active member of a number of associations including the Bank Operations Counsel Association, the Financial Lawyers Conference, the Western Bankers Association, the American Trial Lawyers Association, the Los Angeles Business Trial Lawyers Association, and the California Bank Counsel. Mr. Smith is also a part of the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Commercial Law and Bankruptcy Section as well as the Provisional and Post-Judgment Section. Additionally, Mr. Smith is a member of the International Bankers Association, the Independent Bankers of California, the National Association of Chinese-American Bankers, the Risk Management Association, the Credit Managers Association and the Southern California Mortgage Association. Mr. Smith has experience as a Professor of Law teaching courses on trial tactics and litigation techniques. He is named one of “Who’s Who in Banking and Finance” by the Los Angeles Business Journal.

SESSIONS:
Bankers Under Attack – An Overview of Recent and Proposed Legislation and Current Litigation
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REAL ESTATE WORKOUTS – Strategies, Alternatives and Achieving Results