Smith & O'Toole, PLLC

ABOUT US

Daniel V. Smith:

Mr. Smith is a founding member of Smith & O’Toole, PLLC. Mr. Smith has been an attorney since November 1998 and is a member of the state bars of both Michigan and Kentucky. Mr. Smith is also admitted in multiple federal district courts throughout the country.

Mr. Smith is an experienced business counselor and creative problem solver with more than 16 years as an attorney, including six years serving as general counsel, corporate executive and business advisor for a group of privately held companies in the Manufacturing, Metals, Plastics, Retail, Aerospace, Automotive and Aftermarket industries.  Developed acquisition strategy and served as lead transaction attorney in building a manufacturing conglomerate consisting of forty three distinct entities, spanning seven countries and three continents during the height of the global recession beginning in 2008, resulting in a conglomerate with over Eight Hundred Million Dollars in annual gross sales by 2011. Established, developed and nurtured relationships with multiple sources of funding including, but not limited to, equity investors, bank officers and investment bankers. Provided leadership and strategic vision to corporate executives in acquiring entities, financing acquisitions, refinancing ongoing operations and maintaining compliance across a broad spectrum of regulatory agencies, laws and countries.

Mr. Smith is well versed in transactional documentation for acquisitions, divestitures and financings and has extensive experience with debtor and creditor law issues arising from the acquisition and operation of distressed entities, including bankruptcy issues relative to sales and acquisitions conducted under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code, the defense of collection matters, the development of business friendly settlements with suppliers, and the execution of  forbearance agreements and other accommodations with banks and lenders.

During his first ten years as an attorney, Mr. Smith gained a great deal of knowledge and practical experience in transactions and debtor/creditor matters as well as several other diverse areas of law including litigation and real property transactions.

James N. O'Toole:

James N. O’Toole is a founding member of Smith & O’Toole, PLLC.  He has served as a trusted legal advisor for business owners and individuals since 1995 with clients ranging from small mom and pop shops to $800M conglomerates.   From business formation to litigation, supplier negotiations to collections, succession planning to divestment, James prides himself on taking the time to fully understand his client’s needs and formulating an effective plan to accomplish his client’s goals.

Mr. O’Toole was immersed in the highly competitive automotive supplier battlefield from his first days as an attorney.  Providing legal counsel to manufacturers, machine tool builders and sales and marketing companies gave Mr. O’Toole a well-rounded understanding of the diverse needs of different businesses.  While there is a common thread in all business, the cash flow needs, supplier and customer relationships, capital expenditures required and risks associated with each are very different.  Due to this baptism through fire Mr. O’Toole has learned that keeping an open mind, listening, and learning from the customer produces the best results for that client.

Mr. O’Toole has utilized this approach to providing legal counsel with clients ranging from $500K in sales a year to $800M in industries ranging from flood and fire restorations service companies to high volume critical automotive suppliers.