Devony Schmidt

About Devony Schmidt

I am a senior associate in Freshfields’ corporate M&A practice group working in San Francisco, Silicon Valley and New York. I represent corporate clients on domestic and cross-border M&A transactions as well as evaluating governance risks for public corporations. My recent experience includes advising on complex public and private corporate acquisitions, asset purchases and sales, equity investments, including corporate venture capital programs, developing governance risk portfolios for clients in preparation for shareholder engagement, and evaluating risks around intellectual property and open source software.While completing my JD, I focused on international arbitration and dispute resolution, cyberlaw, human rights law, and trade law. My academic background includes research on EU conflict of law, international human rights law, and European politics, with experience in both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies.

Experience

1. Senior Associate

   Freshfields

   Jan 2025 — Present · San Francisco, CA, US

Education

• Harvard Law School

  Juris Doctor (J.D.), J.D.

  2016 — 2019

• Harvard University

  Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Political Science and Government

  2012 — 2014

• University of Oxford

  Master’s Degree, Politics: European Politics

  2014 — 2016

• Georgetown University

  Transfer, International Politics

  2010 — 2012

Skills

• Time Management
• Public Speaking
• Latex
• Event Planning
• Research
• Microsoft Word
• Legal Writing
• Diplomacy
• Social Media
• Statistical Data Analysis
• Customer Service
• Editing
• Facebook
• International Logistics
• Civil Litigation
• Stata
• Restaurants
• Statistical Modeling
• Powerpoint
• Microsoft Excel
• Statistical Software
• Public Relations
• Quantitative Research
• Legal Research
• Microsoft Office
• French
• Oral Advocacy
• Analysis