Benjamin Smyser Email & Phone Number

Stamford, Connecticut, United States

180 Maiden Lane, New York, Ny 10038

Significant associate-level experience in commodities-based financing, including asset-based loans and commodities intermediation/instantaneous title transfer facilities. Relevant examples include:• Lead associate on $5.5 billion asset-based loan (borrower-side counsel).• Lead associate on $2.4 billion asset-based loan (borrower-side counsel).• Midlevel associate on $420 million instantaneous title transfer facility (intermediator-side). Supervised junior associates, drafted ancillary deal documents, point of contact for client and opposing counsel.• Drafted ancillary documents, including firm opinions, on $3.4 billion asset-based loan for major commodities trading company.Experience in ISDA negotiation, Dodd-Frank compliance. Core member of firm's developing fintech practice. Experience with M&A, private funds, insurance.(Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guaranty a similar outcome.)

Served as the chief negotiator and head writer in a corporate transactional LawMeet (the equivalent of a transactional moot court). The matter involved drafting an indemnification provision in an intellectual property setting. Placed second in the regional competition. Won Best Draft in the entire Southeast region.

New York, New York

Greater Atlanta Area

• Contacted potential clients to offer ELSSCAP’s services, which include amicus briefs or assistance with petitioning the Supreme Court of the United States for certiorari.• Created and maintained client relationships to maximize ELSSCAP’s effectiveness in meeting their needs.• Maintained and updated the ELSSCAP legal blog.• Matched attorneys with interested parties to provide amici curiae in support of our petitions for certiorari and merits-stage Supreme Court briefs.• Brought in at the 11th hour to lead a team in reforming an amicus brief to meet client expectations. Amicus brief won the International Municipal Lawyers' Association's Amicus Service Award.• Wrote and edited sections of amicus briefs for four cases: Saint John's Church in the Wilderness v. Scott, No. 12-1077 (S. Ct. 2013) (historic value of images in bringing vibrancy to debate makes case for cert. compelling) (team leader); L.A. County Flood Control Dist. v. NRDC, No. 11-460 (S. Ct. 2012) (increasing municipal interest in flood control in the face of global warming means storm drain runoff should not be ascribed to city when point source cannot be found) (team leader); Christopher v. SmithKline Beecham, No. 11-204 (S. Ct. 2012) (pharmaceutical detailers are not “outside salesmen” under the Fair Labor Standards Act); and Standard Investment Chartered v. NASD, No. 11-381 (S. Ct. 2011) (NASD officials not entitled to sovereign immunity for acts which merely might lead to exercise of regulatory authority).

111 Centre Street, Room 106

• Assisted in the representation of clients in administrative hearings, including preparation of case strategy.• Met and advised potential clients on legal questions, including questions of succession to rent-stabilized apartments, strategy in holdover proceedings, and assistance available for payment of rent.• Investigated and confirmed facts prior to trial through site visits, field interviews, and phone conversations.• Wrote and submitted brief to the N.Y. Supreme Court advocating transfer of Art. 78 proceeding to the Appellate Division.• Drafted and submitted memoranda of law, summary judgment motions, and motions to dismiss. One case was, in fact, dismissed on summary judgment.

New York, Ny

• Drafted documents later used in litigation, including Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and civil complaints.• Edited briefs for style and grammar, including several later submitted to the Supreme Court. Fact-checked for accuracy.• Reviewed and summarized recently declassified documents for ACLU lawyers and drafted memoranda regarding findings for use internally and for distribution to media outlets, including the Washington Post.

• Worked simultaneously for the National Security Project, Human Rights Program, and John Adams Project – was the only Legal Administrative Assistant in the entire ACLU to work for more than one project at the same time.• Researched and prepared memos for staff on various topics, including the contents of a 1,651-page recently declassified document. Received consistent praise for the quality, clarity, and conciseness of my writing.• Given responsibility to develop and implement procedures for tasks nobody at the ACLU had ever done before, for example: obtaining security clearances for people retained by the ACLU. Accomplished said tasks.• Coordinated between lawyers from diverse firms on different schedules to set up meetings between them; booked travel for staff retained by the ACLU, including complex international travel to restricted areas (such as Guantanamo Bay); scheduled conference calls and reserved conference rooms.

• Successfully navigated the New York City government and corporate bureaucracies to resolve issues brought by constituents. Assisted constituents with a variety of issues including noise complaints, school placement, and housing complaints.• Prepared a database of press contacts and documented media coverage of Council Member Lappin.• Researched and drafted proposal to ban Styrofoam containers in New York City and presented it to the Council Member.

Doctor Of Law (J.D.), Law

Activities and Societies: Emory Law School Supreme Court Advocacy Project (ELSSCAP), Emory International Law Review (EILR), American.

B.A., Government, 3.54