Kelli Scheid Smith

Smith represents companies in some of the industries hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic: sports, hospitality, and fashion and retail. It’s meant that Smith has worked with clients to adjust their financing agreements and property portfolios to weather the uncertainty.

“We’re having to be nimble and creative with solutions while planning for life post-Covid,” Smith said.

How commerce will look in the coming months is anyone’s guess, but Smith said her clients expect to eventually return to a time when sports fans can attend a live game, consumers will shop in-person, and travelers will book vacations.

Smith advises commercial entities in real estate transactions, corporate finance and licensing matters, and sponsorship deals. Prominent clients include investment banking firm Goldman Sachs; clothing brands Diesel and Lacoste; NBA teams including Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, and Charlotte Hornets; venue management company ASM Global, and restaurant conglomerate ThinkFoodGroup.

Smith said the diversity of her clientele is a reflection of strategy and good fortune. She sought transactional work in a variety of industries while taking on unexpected challenges.

“I don’t want my days to look the same every day,” she said. “And some of these industries are stuff I like in real life. It is a very broad practice. I’m a jack-of-all-trades transactional lawyer.”

Smith has been with Arent Fox since she was a summer associate in 2006, initially in the Washington, D.C., office. She became a partner and moved to the San Francisco office in 2017.

Smith took the move to the West Coast as an opportunity to formalize the office’s pro bono work. She’s the San Francisco vice-chair of Arent Fox’s pro bono committee. Smith and her firm colleagues dedicate time to nonprofits such as workplace-diversity advocate Coqual, justice system watchdog Equal Justice USA, and youth volunteering group Youth Service America.

Smith said her volunteer work has likewise become timely, as issues of diversity and inclusivity are in the national spotlight.

“It’s nice to work on these topical things that attract a lot of attorney engagement,” she said. “Our attorneys have a personal interest.”

— Jennifer McEntee