Work with a lawyer who focuses on closing the type of deals you want to do

In my line of work, every once in a while, opposing counsel is a large law firm. The outcome is always the same. A recent case in point: Last year I helped a client with a minority investment. He operates a small business. His business partner wanted out. An investor wanted in. The investor had one of the largest law firms in the country representing him. While our proposed documents were clean and efficient, their redlines were not. And it was clear that a junior associate was responsible for a lot of the mark up. - Meaningless legalese was added. - Immaterial changes were made to defined terms. All this created friction. And while friction may not always kill a deal (and didn’t in this case), it can kill a deal under the wrong circumstances. Worse, I can only imagine that the junior associate was being billed out at close to $1,000 / hour. Maybe more. Do yourself a favor, work with an experienced and credentialed lawyer who focuses on closing the type of deals you want to do, be it me or someone else. Because big law is great for big transactions. But main street is a different animal.