Mr. Smit is an associate in Davis Polk & Wardwell’s Corporate Department and is assigned to the Capital Markets Group. Since joining Davis Polk in 2007, he has completed a rotation in the Mergers and Acquisitions Group.

Mr. Smit received his B.A. in 1999, his B.A. (Honours) in 2001 and his LL.B. in 2002 (all cum laude) from the University of Stellenbosch (South Africa), where he was the recipient of the Hofmeyr Medal for best law student. He clerked for the Honorable Laurie Ackermann, Constitutional Court of South Africa in 2002. In 2004, he received his LL.M. from Harvard Law School, where he was a Fulbright Scholar. He is admitted to practice only in the High Court of South Africa. He is a native speaker of Afrikaans and proficient in Dutch.

He is the author of “Die invloed van die ligging van ’n grondstuk op die reëls ten opsigte van die natuurlike afvloei van water,” Tydskrif vir Hedendaagse Romeins-Hollandse Reg, 1998, and “Judicial Understanding: From Pre-understanding to Better Understanding,” Responsa Meridiana, 2001.

Before joining Davis Polk, Mr. Smit worked at Webber Wentzel Bowens (Johannesburg) in 2003 and from 2004 to 2007, finally as a senior associate.