Smith Kane Co-Founder Mark D. Smith Honored with 2026 New England Legal Awards Lifetime Achievement Award

Smith Kane, LLP announces that Partner Mark D. Smith has been named a recipient of the 2026 New England Legal Awards (NELA) Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes attorneys who have left a lasting imprint on the legal community in New England. Smith was selected for his distinguished 40-year legal career and unwavering commitment to professional leadership, public service, and the advancement of justice.

In 2000, Smith co-founded Laredo, Smith & Kane, now Smith Kane, LLP, helping build the firm’s reputation in white-collar criminal defense, government investigations, and complex litigation while mentoring younger attorneys and fostering a culture grounded in integrity, professionalism, and collaboration. His practice focuses on representing businesses and individuals in criminal and government enforcement matters, as well as serving as Massachusetts counsel to national law firms. Earlier in his career, Smith served as Deputy Chief of the Criminal Bureau in the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, supervising more than 50 prosecutors, after five years as Chief of the Public Integrity Division, where he participated in or supervised more than 100 public corruption cases. He also served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney and, earlier, as a public defender in New York City. A former President of the Boston Bar Association, Smith was appointed by the Supreme Judicial Court to the Court Management Advisory Board, which he chaired in 2020.

“Mark’s impact on the legal profession extends far beyond his accomplishments as a lawyer,” said Smith Kane Managing Partner Matthew A. Kane. “His integrity, leadership, and commitment to mentoring others have made a lasting impact on our firm and the broader legal community. This award is a fitting recognition of an exceptional career.”

The honor follows Smith’s recent induction into Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly’s 2026 Hall of Fame.

The New England Legal Awards are a distinguished celebration of professional excellence within the legal community across Connecticut, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. NELA winners will be announced at an awards gala on October 8 at The Westin Copley Place. The full list of finalists and honorees is featured here.

About Smith Kane, LLP

Celebrating 30 years, Smith Kane, LLP has built a reputation for helping clients grow their businesses, manage risk, and resolve complex legal matters. Founded in 1996, the firm offers big-firm expertise paired with the strategic, responsive, and client-focused approach of a boutique practice. Smith Kane represents clients in business law and litigation, white collar criminal defense, government investigations, and employment law matters from its Boston office.

Six Laredo, Smith & Kane Attorneys Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2025

Boston law firm Laredo, Smith & Kane announces that six of its attorneys were selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2025 edition. Published by Woodward/White, Inc. since 1982, Best Lawyers is considered by many to be the oldest and most respected peer-reviewed publication in the legal profession.

The six Laredo, Smith & Kane attorneys listed in Best Lawyers are:

●      Marc C. Laredo: Commercial Litigation; Employment Law, Management

●      Mark D. Smith: Closely Held Companies and Family; Business Law; Commercial Litigation; Criminal Defense, White-CollarLared

●      Matthew A. Kane: Litigation, Labor & Employment

●      Payal Salsburg: Commercial Litigation; Criminal Defense, White-Collar

●      William G. Cosmas, Jr.: Commercial Litigation

●      Jessica L. Conklin: Criminal Defense, White-Collar

Inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America is based on an extensive peer-review process designed to capture the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical and legal practice area. Best Lawyers highlights the top 5% of practicing attorneys in each practice area. Its 2025 selections are featured in the 31st edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

About Laredo, Smith & Kane, LLP
For nearly 30 years, Laredo, Smith & Kane has helped clients grow their businesses and resolve legal matters–offering clients big-firm expertise with the client-centered strategy that only a small firm can provide.  The firm’s attorneys successfully combine a strategic approach to running a business with thoughtful, thorough, and protective legal representation. The firm represents clients in matters related to business law and litigation, white collar criminal defense, government investigations, employment law, and school disciplinary and Title IX matters.

Laredo, Smith & Kane Attorneys Selected for Inclusion in 2025 Best Lawyers

Laredo, Smith & Kane attorneys Marc Laredo, Mark Smith, Matthew Kane, Payal Salsburg, William Cosmas and Jessica Conklin are all selected by their peers for inclusion in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America©.

Marc Laredo is selected for his work in both Commercial Litigation and Employment Law/Management. Marc represents clients in disputes among owners of closely held businesses and a wide array of other business litigation matters including commercial contract cases, business torts, employment and non-competition litigation, government investigations and construction cases. Additionally, Marc serves as counsel to closely held businesses, advising them on issues such as the initial formation and maintenance of the business entity, contract and employment matters, crisis situations and exit strategies.

Mark Smith is selected for his work in Criminal Defense/White-Collar, Commercial Litigation, Closely Held Companies and Family Business Law. Mark is retained by businesses and individuals during all stages of criminal and other government enforcement actions. National law firms also choose Mark to handle a wide range of Massachusetts-specific litigation and regulation matters as outside counsel on behalf of their clients.

Matthew Kane is selected for his work in Litigation/Labor & Employment. Matt represents banks and other financial institutions, businesses and individuals in an array of business law matters and disputes concerning consumer finance, employment, construction, real estate and general litigation as part of the firm’s business litigation practice.

Payal Salsburg is selected for her work in Commercial Litigation and Criminal Defense: White Collar. She focuses her practice in the areas of business litigation, corporate advice and counsel, and white collar criminal defense. She represents corporations, small businesses and individuals in connection with an array of matters including contract and business disputes, False Claims Act litigation, and government and internal investigations.

William Cosmas is selected for his work in Commercial Litigation. He handles complex business disputes across many industries including finance, banking, technology, and life sciences, among others. His experience spans business litigation and arbitration, both domestic and international; government investigations and white-collar criminal defense; and real estate matters.

Jessica Conklin is selected for her work in Criminal Defense/White-Collar. She counsels clients on a variety of matters ranging from healthcare compliance and audits to government investigations. She also represents students and their families who attending secondary schools, colleges and universities in connection with disciplinary proceedings and title IX investigations.

Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers® has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Best Lawyers lists are compiled based on an exhaustive peer-review evaluation. Over 110,000 industry leading lawyers are eligible to vote (from around the world), and they received millions of evaluations on the legal abilities of other lawyers based on their specific practice areas around the world. Lawyers are not allowed to pay a fee to be listed; therefore inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor.

Jessica Conklin Moderates White Collar Crime Conference Program

Jessica Conklin is moderating a panel for the Boston Bar Association’s White Collar Crime Conference on Thursday, May 5th at the Aloft Hotel in Boston. She is joined by leaders in the industry from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Criminal Bureau of the MA Office of the Attorney General, and White Collar Crime attorneys to discuss Charging and Sentencing.

Leaders from across the state, including law firm defense counsel, government prosecutors, in-house counsel, judges, and industry professionals come together in person for this signature event to get timely guidance and analysis on recent white-collar crime cases and practice developments.

 

Newsletter: Maintaining Compliance With Limited Resources

The need for a company to have a strong corporate compliance program is directly related to the risk of a government enforcement action: the greater the degree of government regulation, the greater the risk and need for compliance.

View Newsletter (PDF)

BBA Hosts Government Corruption & Fraud Seminar

The Boston Bar Association held its annual seminar on The FCPA, Public Corruption and Government Prosecutions on April 3, 2014. Program co-chair and moderator Mark D. Smith helped lead a panel on government trends in high profile public corruption prosecutions, trends in False Claims Act cases and the impact of recent ethics reform laws.