The following is an excerpt from Practice Perspectives: Vault's Guide to Legal Practice Areas.
Shiva Sandill focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions, venture capital, corporate finance and securities, and capital markets transactions. He has extensive experience with advising private and public companies, private equity funds, and venture capital funds in connection with mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, portfolio company investments, buyouts, and recapitalizations. Additionally, Shiva represents emerging and middle-market companies at all stages of maturity, including formation, initial funding, expansion, and exit.
Describe your practice area and what it entails.
Broadly speaking, I represent strategic and private equity investors, asset managers, management teams, and portfolio companies of sponsors in acquisitions, majority and minority stake investments, sales, dispositions, carve-out transactions, leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, joint ventures, and other business combinations. Our team ranks among the market-leading legal advisors, representing sophisticated investors across nearly all industries and sectors. Clients rely on us to advise in a commercial manner on strategic transactions, complex issues, and market trends.
What types of clients do you represent?
I have clients with varying investment strategies and who invest across industries and jurisdictions. Our Private Equity practice works on a broad range of transactions for private equity firms, venture capital firms, sovereign wealth funds, and their portfolio companies. The firm’s client list is impressive, as our representation is expansive and not limited to institutions or firms of any given size or maturity, which provides us with deep expertise and experience to draw upon. We advise clients on structuring and presenting bids, negotiating, and drafting acquisition agreements and financing documents, offering guidance and insight even after the completion of a transaction.
What types of cases/deals do you work on?
White & Case has a full-service Private Equity practice, handling a wide range of services to our clients engaged in investment and exit transactions of all kinds. When the stakes are high and time is short, private equity leaders turn to us to develop creative strategies to help win auctions, mitigate risks, and close deals quickly and efficiently. From groundbreaking, monumental acquisitions to smaller strategic add-ons, our private equity teams have implemented transactions with precision and care for established institutions, entrepreneurs, and emerging visionaries alike.
How did you choose this practice area?
I chose this practice area because being a private equity lawyer means that you are always learning, as the industry and market are continuously changing. The fast-paced nature of the practice keeps me on my toes, and the strategic and business-minded nature of the practice works well with my personality. I was drawn to the Private Equity practice at White & Case because it is a market leader in this space, and as a result, we support some of the most sophisticated clients across the globe. Not only do I get to learn about different industries and businesses, but I also learn about different legal topics, such as employment law, intellectual property law, tax law, environmental law, etc.
What is a typical day like and/or what are some common tasks you perform?
There is no typical day. That said, the day-to-day work of private equity lawyers often includes being an extension of our clients’ business team, strategizing with our clients and their stakeholders, negotiating, and discussing our clients’ economic and operational goals, as well as being a thoughtful and surgical technician, preparing partnership agreements, advising on and documenting management and compensation arrangements, as well as advising and documenting the sale or purchase of a company. Often much of our day can be spent liaising with any number of our many subject matter specialists to ensure we are providing our clients with a comprehensive, thoughtful, and intentional approach.
What training, classes, experience or skills development would you recommend to someone who wishes to enter your practice area?
While much of what you learn as a private equity lawyer is on the job, I recommend taking accounting and finance courses or other business-related classes in law school. Having a strong foundation in these subjects will provide invaluable knowledge on issues important to clients. You will also be able to communicate with clients and understand their objectives with this background. When advising our clients, not only do we need to understand a target’s business, but we also need to understand our client’s business and objectives. Being able to communicate and understand business terminology allows you to add even more value as a private equity lawyer.
As a private equity lawyer, you are usually project managing the transaction from a legal perspective, which can involve the coordination of specialists across different offices (and jurisdictions) as well as acting as the first point of contact for the client. This means you need to be organized, have strong communication and personal skills, and be a leader. A genuine interest in understanding how businesses operate is also key. We are in the client service business; as such, you must have a strong willingness to contribute to serving your client’s needs.
What is the most challenging aspect of practicing in this area?
Private equity deals can be unpredictable and present a variety of unexpected challenges. Having solid technical legal skills is just the starting point. Practicing at White & Case, clients expect us to understand the market, remain commercially savvy, and provide high-quality practical (and often creative) solutions at a quick pace.
What is unique about your practice area at your firm?
White & Case’s Private Equity practice is unique because our model allows our lawyers to gain valuable experience across a variety of areas within private equity. Given our sophisticated roster of clients and commitment to growing the practice group and being cutting-edge in our goal-oriented services, the firm is deeply invested in supporting private equity clients across multiple countries, so I am required to bring my “A game” to work every day.
What are some typical career paths for lawyers in this practice area?
Historically, the common career path for lawyers was to make partner at a law firm. Now, given the versatile skill set of M&A and private equity attorneys, the exit opportunities are endless. You often see private practice attorneys go in-house to clients, private companies, or public companies. I have also noticed attorneys transitioning into business roles or taking on hybrid business-legal roles.
How important is it to understand your client’s business, and how can junior attorneys gain this insight?
Paramount and expected. This is key to being a trusted advisor and value-add to your clients. During deals, ask questions and track what other investments your clients are making. Your advice should be grounded in your understanding of the clients’ strategies and considerations for undertaking the transaction you are supporting. Further, given our understanding of the market and the breadth and depth of private experience at White & Case, we are often able to anticipate our clients’ questions and concerns before they even pose the question. Also, always follow the news—in particular, reading The Wall Street Journal and Financial Times. You will learn so much about industries and businesses, which will help you communicate with your clients and make you invaluable to a deal team.
Junior attorneys can further achieve this by rolling up their sleeves, owning portions and tasks of a deal, investing time in learning about the client (its rationale for a transaction), and asking questions. White & Case provides an environment for junior attorneys to get a lot of exposure to the deal process and push themselves to take on the responsibility of more senior attorneys. Mentors are also essential to a successful legal career, which is why White & Case pairs all junior associates with a mentor when they start at the firm.