In an article published in the August issue of Southern Loggin’ Times, Adams and Reese Forestry Team attorney April Smith is quoted discussing the growing number of women in the timber industry.
Smith has represented forestry clients for close to a decade and has seen firsthand the increase of women in the middle of timber transactions.
“It’s been a male-dominated industry, traditionally. It’s labor-intensive and it’s outdoor, so the perception has been that it’s man’s work. But I see women attracted to the challenges. When I started, women were more in office roles, but we’ve seen a switch in many transactions,” Smith explains.
This could be due to the overwhelming realization that forestry is sustainable and aimed at protecting the environment. “And as more women see other women in those roles, more will realize that there’s a place for them,” Smith concludes.
Smith represents TIMOs, REITs, financial institutions, businesses, and individuals in a wide range of transactions, including timberland and commercial property acquisitions and sales, timberland and commercial financing, mergers and acquisitions, and business sales. She has a nationwide timber practice, handling deals from Florida to Washington. She has handled acquisitions and sales of timberlands from 20 acres to as much as 1.8 million acres and financings of credit facilities with timberland or commercial collateral ranging in size from $75,000 to over $100 million. In addition to acquisitions and divestures, Smith handles all facets of the legal side of timberland management, including pipeline and utility rights of ways, access rights, title issues, solar, wind and carbon agreements.
Smith has been selected among the Rising Stars in Mid-South Super Lawyers® for several years in the areas of real estate, business/corporate, or business litigation and is recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® for Corporate Law and Timber Law in Mobile, AL.