Corporate mergers and acquisitions practice is fast-paced and demanding. Among M&A lawyers surveyed about their practice, most say that what they dislike the most are long and unpredictable hours. Moreover, attorneys tend to be perfectionists and pessimists, two characteristics that can lead to anxiety. But is all this M&A stress and anxiety inherent to the practice and unavoidable? After all, we’re paid to worry, right? Not necessarily.
There are some ways you can figure out what is causing stress in your M&A practice and finally put those sleepless nights behind.
- Are your projects understaffed? It seems like such an obvious question, but if you have too few attorneys trying to do much by a set deadline, it’s a recipe for disaster. Plus, you’re more likely to make mistakes when you’re working 20 hours a day. That’s not good for you, and it’s not good for your clients. Step back, evaluate the workload, and adjust the number of attorneys on your deal accordingly.
- Are you keeping a cool head? Leading M&A attorneys stress that keeping your cool under pressure is key to running a successful transaction. Emotions can cloud your ability to compromise, negotiate, and anticipate future problems.
- Are you too focused on winning every point? M&A work is obviously complex. Lawyers often compare themselves to generals heading into battle, keeping their eye on the ultimate target while managing thousands of details across the battlefield. An attorney has to ensure that all the soldiers do their jobs, coordinating specialists in tax, ERISA, securities, and labor law. But for M&A deals, the parties have common interests, and you have to be willing to negotiate. If you focus too much on winning every point, you may lose sight of the importance of closing the deal.
- Are you managing client expectations? While there are many things about a hectic M&A practice that you can’t change, you can control your client’s reasonable expectations concerning the complexity of the deal and the deadlines you need to meet. If all of you are on the same page, your deal will be much less stressful, and your client satisfaction levels will increase.
Mergers and acquisitions are a special area of the law, and it takes a special kind of lawyer. At AEGIS Law, we’ve changed the traditional law practice. Our lawyers and clients are happier, and we work more efficiently. If you’d like to learn more about us and how we work, let us know. Send us a message or call us at (314) 454-9100.
