Abigail Smith > Latham & Watkins LLP > Washington DC, United States > Lawyer Profile
Latham & Watkins LLP Offices

555 ELEVENTH STREET, NW, SUITE 1000
WASHINGTON DC 20004-1304
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
United States
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Abigail Smith

Position
Abigail C. Smith represents clients in their highest stakes capital markets transactions, with a primary focus on the real estate investment trust (REIT), financial services, and hospitality industries.
Abigail draws on substantial experience to guide issuers and underwriters on SEC-registered and exempted capital markets transactions, including:
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- Initial public offerings (IPOs)
- Preferred and common equity offerings
- Debt offerings, including investment grade, high yield, and green bonds
Beyond the transactional context, Abigail cultivates trusted relationships with her clients to advise on ongoing disclosure, reporting, and broader corporate governance matters.
Abigail is a recognized thought leader in the capital markets space and has co-authored LexisNexis’ Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Guide for Capital Markets and Equity Capital Markets in the USA.
She serves as a member of the board of directors of 826DC, a nonprofit organization that supports students ages 6 to 18 with developing their creative and expository writing skills and helps teachers inspire their students to write.
Before joining Latham, she was a partner at another global law firm, where she served on the firm’s US Opinions Committee and frequently contributed to client publications related to securities law developments.
Lawyer Rankings
United States > Real estate > Real estate investment trusts (REITs)
Per one client, Latham & Watkins LLP’s REIT team is ‘the best of the best’, maintaining its reputation of handling marquee REIT transactions and financings across all asset classes, particularly large-scale IPOs. Alongside its strong expertise in IPOs, the team has extensive experience in M&A and debt offerings. Leading the team in Los Angeles, Julian Kleindorfer
distinguishes himself for advising REITs on the full breadth of corporate finance and securities matters including securities offerings and major joint ventures. In Century City, Ana O’Brien chiefly focuses on the tax aspects of REIT transactions and is relied on for her deep knowledge of the federal taxation of REITs. Highly sought-after capital markets expert Lewis Kneib is reputed for his prowess as outside counsel to prominent REIT companies, including data center REITs, and underwriters on debt and equity offerings. In the Washington DC office, Abigail Smith stands out for her work representing issuers and underwriters, while Brent Epstein and Craig Garner, found in Century City and San Diego respectively, also come recommended. William Cernius retired in 2024.
Lawyer Rankings
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Insurance > Advice to policyholders
- Dispute resolution > Appellate: courts of appeals / Appellate: supreme courts (states and federal)
- Finance > Capital markets: debt offerings
- Finance > Capital markets: equity offerings
- Finance > Capital markets: global offerings
- Finance > Capital markets: high-yield debt offerings
- Antitrust > Cartel
- International trade and national security > CFIUS
- Antitrust > Civil litigation/class actions: defense
- Finance > Commercial lending
- Finance > Commercial lending: Advice to bank lenders
- Intellectual property > Copyright
- Media, technology and telecoms > Cyber law (including data privacy and data protection)
- Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional
- Energy > Energy transactions: electric power
- Energy > Energy transactions: oil and gas
- Environment > Environment: litigation
- Environment > Environment: regulatory
- Environment > Environment: transactional
- Finance > Fintech
- Dispute resolution > General commercial disputes
- Real estate > Land use/zoning
- Intellectual property > Patents: licensing
- Healthcare > Life sciences
- Dispute resolution > M&A litigation: defense
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: large deals ($1bn+)
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: litigation
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: transactional
- Antitrust > Merger control
- International trade and national security > National Security
- Intellectual property > Patents: licensing
- Intellectual property > Patents: licensing
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (full coverage)
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (International Trade Commission)
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Private equity buyouts: large deals ($500m+)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: consumer products (including tobacco)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: toxic tort
- Finance > Project finance
- Real estate > Real estate
- Real estate > Real estate investment trusts (REITs)
- Energy > Renewable/alternative power
- Finance > Restructuring (including bankruptcy): corporate
- Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Shareholder activism
- Industry focus > Sport
- Finance > Structured finance: derivatives and structured products
- Finance > Structured finance: securitization
- Media, technology and telecoms > Technology transactions
- Media, technology and telecoms > Telecoms and broadcast: regulatory
- Media, technology and telecoms > Telecoms and broadcast: transactions
- Intellectual property > Trade secrets (litigation and non-contentious matters)
- Tax > US taxes: contentious
- Tax > US taxes: non-contentious
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Venture capital and emerging companies
Firm Rankings
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Corporate governance
- International trade and national security > Customs, export controls and economic sanctions
- Industry focus > Education
- Energy > Energy regulation: electric power
- Energy > Energy regulation: oil and gas
- Government > Government contracts
- Insurance > Insurance: non-contentious
- Dispute resolution > International litigation
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- Investment fund formation and management > Private equity funds (including venture capital)
- Dispute resolution > Financial services litigation
- Healthcare > Health insurers
- Media, technology and telecoms > Outsourcing
- Healthcare > Service providers
- Dispute resolution > International arbitration
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- Intellectual property > Trademarks: litigation
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- Finance > Financial services regulation
- Finance > Commercial lending > Advice to direct lenders/private credit
- Dispute resolution > Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense