M&A Lawyers

Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) and joint ventures are handled by the M&A lawyers at the international law firm of Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P. (SHB). Our M&A lawyers work with a team of professionals in our Corporate Transactions Practice. Our experienced attorneys, research analysts and paraprofessionals work with a diverse client base that includes multinational public companies and early-stage private firms to structure, negotiate and close mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and strategic alliances.

The late 1990s to 2000 were an all-time high for M&A. Lawyers at SHB were involved heavily in mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures. The exorbitant caseload allowed us to hone our skills and fine-tune our strategies. As with any trend, this slowed until around 2005 when a more robust economy and corporate profits brought about a new wave of mergers and acquisitions, resulting in a resurgence of business for our M&A lawyers. Several big-name deals occurred and were planned, primarily in the telecom, banking and software industries. The economy once again took a downturn, and some mergers and acquisitions taking place because some corporations were financial straits. Regardless of how or why those mergers, acquisitions or joint ventures take place, M&A lawyers are integral parts of the transactions.

Related areas covered by our M&A lawyers include corporate governance and investor relations. Corporate governance is the responsibility of a firm's board of directors. While management runs the company and oversees day-to-day operations, it is the board of directors that "governs" the corporations by overseeing management and representing the interests of the firm's shareholders. We recommend working with our M&A lawyers to ensure all steps taken in the firm’s day to day actions are legal. Investors and the public are particularly interested in the financial reports that publicly-traded companies release, and boards of directors of these companies have a legal obligation to ensure that these reports are fair and accurate. Recent business failures, auditor malfeasance, and material deficiencies in financial disclosures, however, have caused a serious erosion of public confidence in the financial reporting of these companies. Surrounding yourself with professionals, including M&A lawyers, will help eliminate crucial mistakes.

To learn more about our M&A lawyers, contact us today.