Mergers and Acquisitions Attorneys Job Description, Duties & Salary

The Job

Mergers and acquisitions attorneys work with corporations to guide them through corporate merger and corporate acquisition transactions that occur when one company buys another or two companies combine their operations. Many attorneys that specialize in mergers and acquisitions work with medium and large law firms. Mergers and acquisitions transactions are complicated and the deals have a critical impact on companies, which carries through from internal staff and board members to customers, the community, the industry, and beyond. Mergers and acquisitions attorneys help corporate clients with various steps of the mergers and acquisitions process, including helping to secure financing for the transaction, providing advice on contract terms regarding sales or acquisitions of the business, and advising on tactics for negotiations.

Mergers and acquisitions attorneys conduct due diligence on both sides of the transaction, reviewing business documents and contracts from the company that is buying the business and the business that is being bought, to ensure that there are no potential legal and financial risks. They make sure that all third-party relationships, such as with vendors, suppliers, and consultants, are identified and formalized through appropriate documentation. They identify legal issues, such as whether the transaction will be friendly or otherwise. M&A attorneys then create a list of steps that will be taken and the time frame for the process of the transaction, so that the client knows what to expect for each step and knows the deadlines for these actions.

M&A attorneys consult with attorneys in other specialized areas for guidance on issues such as tax law, antitrust, and labor law. This helps them to understand such things as if the transaction needs to be structured in a special way due to tax implications, or if regulatory approval is needed before the transaction can be completed. They review their corporate client's contracts for business, employment and outsourcing, finance, and more. They review the contracts for mergers and acquisitions deals, negotiate the agreements (according to the direction they've agreed to with their clients), sign the agreements on behalf of their clients, close the deals, and announce publicly that the merger or acquisition has been completed.

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