Angela A. Smedley

Partner — Winston & Strawn LLP

Description of field of expertise

Angela A. Smedley is a partner in Winston & Strawn’s New York office whose practice focuses on complex commercial and sports litigation.  Angela represents financial services firms in class actions relating to consumer lending, retail banking, business torts, and government program fraud.  Angela also employs her years of sports litigation experience in representing professional athletes, their unions, and agencies in labor arbitrations, antitrust litigation, and complex disputes at the trial and appellate levels. In this context, she has represented clients such as the National Football League Players Association, the National Basketball Players Association, and a variety of individual athletes and sports agents.  Angela was recently named to Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America for Commercial Litigation in 2023 and to Benchmark Litigation’s 2022 “40 & Under List.”  She was also recognized as one of Crain’s New York’s Notable Women in Sports for 2022 and as a “Key Lawyer” in Sports Law by The Legal 500 US in 2022.

Angela received her J.D. from Columbia Law School, where she was an editor of the Columbia Law Review.  Before law school, she earned her undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, in Sociology and African-American Studies from Harvard College.  Angela served as judicial clerk to the Honorable George B. Daniels in the Southern District of New York for the 2013-2014 term.  At Winston, Angela is the Co-Chair of the Black Lawyers Network and was recently named Chair of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee.

What advice would you offer to new attorneys interested in your field?

Litigators, develop your research skills early—in law school if there is a course available to you.  And be vocal about the type of work you want to do.  Especially for a field as small and sought-after as sports law, the first step is making your interest known so you learn the resources available to you and build the connections in the industry that you will need.  Be an apprentice as much as you can, even if it means doing it on your own time (and occasionally on your own dime!).  Nothing compares to being able to see a talented senior attorney put your work into action.  Lastly, join professional associations in your areas of interest, whether consumer class action defense, sports, or something else.  Through those organizations, you will meet a wide range of people who can expand your opportunities and from whom you can learn a lot.

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