Stephen T. Smith

Areas of Practice

Primary practice areas and past or present representations include:

Anti-trust:

• Civil representations include national counsel in federal multi-district and state litigation for the North American sales manager of a multi-national textile manufacturer; N.C. counsel for two national drug manufacturers in class action by retail customers against national prescription drug manufacturers; representation of past president of the National Automobile Dealers’ Association. 

• Criminal representations include global head of air cargo for a mideast airline; the president of a regional dairy; an international tobacco leaf-dealer; an international pesticide company; the North American sales manager of a multi-national textile manufacturer; and an officer, board member and shareholder of a regional bread manufacturer.

Public Corruption and N.C. Board of Elections Investigations:

Representations of two state universities and a multi-state real estate developer in Federal and state and N.C. Board of Elections investigations of N.C. Governor and staff; CEO of ethanol company in Hobbs Act (bribery of a state official) prosecution; a major state fair concessionaire and a lawyer in federal grand jury and state investigations of N.C. Agriculture Commissioner; the principle vendor in school district fraud investigation; successful 1998 Board of Elections representation of the Speaker of the N.C. House of Representatives; representation of a N.C. House member in successful challenge of 18-vote 1998 primary loss – primary election voided and new primary ordered; criminal representation of head of PAC in 2006 investigation of Speaker of N.C. House of Representatives; representation of various individuals relating to campaign contribution inquiries.

Financial institutions:

Representations include grand jury investigations of a national banking corporation; a national accounting firm; a securities trader in investigation of theft of software and trade secrets from banking corporation; and various officers, directors or borrowers of financial institutions.

Government contract fraud, grand jury, False Claims Act, and qui tam (whistleblower) investigations: 

Representations include a New England general contractor for a $50 million Ft. Bragg construction project; a multi-branch health care corporation; a multi-branch mail pre-sort company; the principal in investigation of $70 million Defense Department demonstration project; and individual officers and employees of defense contractors.

Health care: 

Representations include criminal investigation and civil litigation of a multi-branch home health care provider; an upper level administration of a major hospital system; various doctors, health care attorneys, medical practices and providers.

Government Regulation:

Representation of numerous businesses and other entities regarding various government regulation issues.

SEC

Representations include insider trading and money laundering investigation and prosecution of CFO of a publically-traded company; Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigations of two officers of publically-traded company; CTO of publically-traded tech company in investigation of disclosures in raising venture capital.

Other areas: 

Representations include a regional newspaper and two reporters for civil and criminal contempt for reporting the results of a sealed settlement agreement; an N.C. commission in three challenges to its constitutionality; the COO in national pyramid scheme prosecution; a regional development company in a North Carolina Department of Transportation investigation; a multi-dealership auto dealer in the American Honda fraud/bribery investigation; an N.C. insurance company after takeover by the N.C. Department of Insurance; and various individuals before the IRS and the N.C. Department of Revenue.

Professional discipline:

Representations of lawyers, doctors, nurses, accountants and various other professionals regarding licensing board professional discipline.