Profile

Laesha Smith

Partner,
Litigation,
Poulus Ensom Smith LLP

My Contact Information

Poulus Ensom Smith LLP
Vancouver, BC
Work: 7787273500

Social Links

Chapter Location

Vancouver

Bio

I maintain a dispute resolution practice with a focus on regulatory investigations and enforcement proceedings as well as civil and administrative litigation. I've worked extensively on investigative matters involving the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice, the UK Financial Conduct Authority, UK Serious Fraud Office, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority and the British Columbia Securities Commission. My clients have included global financial institutions with frequent international travel to represent them across multiple jurisdictions in Asia, Europe and North America.  I have regularly appeared before both trial and appellate courts as well as administrative tribunals in multiple jurisdictions. Locally, my practice has continued to build upon my broad regulatory and commercial litigation experience, representing top local clients in administrative proceedings and complex commercial litigation matters. 

Before joining Poulus Ensom LLP, I was a partner at a leading litigation boutique in Canada and litigation counsel in the Enforcement Department at the British Columbia Securities Commission. Prior to that I practiced for 10 years at top international law firms in New York and London. In New York, I represented banks and foreign and domestic corporations in connection with U.S. regulatory and criminal investigations concerning securities, commodities, and insider trading offenses, as well as violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. In London, I focused on contentious regulatory work and acted for financial institutions in high profile, complex regulatory investigations, both domestically and cross-border across a very broad range of regulatory issues, including market abuse, insider dealing, anti-bribery and corruption, mis-selling, fraud, regulatory reporting, and other types of systems and controls failings. I also represented senior management individuals in regulatory investigations.

I earned my bachelor’s degree, with honors, from Queen’s University in 2002 and my law degree from McGill University in 2005.

Practice Areas

  • Anti-Corruption
  • Antitrust
  • Appeals
  • Asset Forfeiture/Restitution
  • Complex Commercial Litigation
  • Corporate Crime
  • Corporate Governance
  • Government Investigations
  • Insider Trading
  • Internal Investigations
  • SEC Enforcement
  • Securities Litigation
  • Trials
  • White Collar Crime