6 ms·

Can you give more constructive advice on how to find a lawyer that both can draft a non-trivial agreement with PE, and is affordable? What specifics do you look

by smcin 2y ago

Can you give more constructive advice on how to find a lawyer that both can draft a non-trivial agreement with PE, and is affordable? What specifics do you look for?

tptacek 2y ago
You're looking for M&A lawyers, presumably pedigreed (from a large firm with a well regarded M&A practice, for instance). Your normal contracts counsel should have good thoughts about referrals.
- smcin 2y ago
  What about all the people who don't have a normal contracts counsel?
  - tptacek 2y ago
    Look, at the point where you're selling a company in a multimillion dollar transaction, some of these excuses go out the window. Get a lawyer, and then ask your lawyer for a referral to an M&A practice. Company acquisitions are a shitload of specialized work; it's honestly weird for me to hear that a general practitioner handled this person's earnout contract.
    - deleted 2y ago
      [deleted]
    - smcin 2y ago
      It's not an "excuse". I'm surprised that you've never seen bad lawyer referrals. You honestly haven't? (and I'm not talking about general practitioners). I've also seen a (pedigreed) General Counsel that sank a tech company.
      - hluska 2y ago
        Honestly pal, if you’re in a position to sell a company for the kinds of dollars that PE deals with, you needed a lawyer a long time ago. I understand that they’re expensive, legalese is intentionally difficult to understand and lawyers aren’t builders so they’re not worth funding. I understand those excuses because I’ve used them. But you needed a lawyer a long time ago. If you actually don’t have someone who deals with contracts, terms and things like that, fix that first.
hluska 2y ago
First off, it’s healthy to temper your expectations. “Affordable” is very much a relative term. You can find general practice attorneys who can do it, but they can make half million dollar mistakes as in the source article. It might have been an $800 or $1000 difference an hour, but you can get a lot of those hours for $500,000. I’d expect to pay more than any reasonable human would charge for an hour of their time. It sounds negative (and it is) but this is about health. You’re looking for a highly specialized practitioner with practical M&A experience. I’d start with my regular counsel (aka the person who does things like terms and conditions, contracts and the like) and ask for a referral. It’s also really useful to ask people who work in the same field as you and who have been through an acquisition. I wouldn’t necessarily trust them for a skills based referral (ie - Lawyer A performed wonderfully) since they’re likely not lawyers and you often won’t know you got bad advice for years. But I would trust their opinion on things like how the attorney communicates and manages the entire process.

by smcin 2y ago

Can you give more constructive advice on how to find a lawyer that both can draft a non-trivial agreement with PE, and is affordable? What specifics do you look for?

tptacek 2y ago

You're looking for M&A lawyers, presumably pedigreed (from a large firm with a well regarded M&A practice, for instance). Your normal contracts counsel should have good thoughts about referrals.

smcin 2y ago
What about all the people who don't have a normal contracts counsel?
- tptacek 2y ago
  Look, at the point where you're selling a company in a multimillion dollar transaction, some of these excuses go out the window. Get a lawyer, and then ask your lawyer for a referral to an M&A practice. Company acquisitions are a shitload of specialized work; it's honestly weird for me to hear that a general practitioner handled this person's earnout contract.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - smcin 2y ago
    It's not an "excuse". I'm surprised that you've never seen bad lawyer referrals. You honestly haven't? (and I'm not talking about general practitioners). I've also seen a (pedigreed) General Counsel that sank a tech company.
    - hluska 2y ago
      Honestly pal, if you’re in a position to sell a company for the kinds of dollars that PE deals with, you needed a lawyer a long time ago. I understand that they’re expensive, legalese is intentionally difficult to understand and lawyers aren’t builders so they’re not worth funding. I understand those excuses because I’ve used them. But you needed a lawyer a long time ago. If you actually don’t have someone who deals with contracts, terms and things like that, fix that first.

hluska 2y ago

First off, it’s healthy to temper your expectations. “Affordable” is very much a relative term. You can find general practice attorneys who can do it, but they can make half million dollar mistakes as in the source article. It might have been an $800 or $1000 difference an hour, but you can get a lot of those hours for $500,000. I’d expect to pay more than any reasonable human would charge for an hour of their time. It sounds negative (and it is) but this is about health. You’re looking for a highly specialized practitioner with practical M&A experience. I’d start with my regular counsel (aka the person who does things like terms and conditions, contracts and the like) and ask for a referral. It’s also really useful to ask people who work in the same field as you and who have been through an acquisition. I wouldn’t necessarily trust them for a skills based referral (ie - Lawyer A performed wonderfully) since they’re likely not lawyers and you often won’t know you got bad advice for years. But I would trust their opinion on things like how the attorney communicates and manages the entire process.