Press & News

Ronan O'Brien Published in The Daily Deal
11/06/2006

In the November 6 issue of The Daily Deal [“An entrepreneur's dilemma: Choosing the right law firm” ], Ronan advises entrepreneurs on how to select the best counsel for selling their businesses. He cautions owners to look beyond the same law firm that advised them during start-up days and recommends asking critical questions about transactional M&A experience. He suggests contacting references and business brokers involved in previous transactions with the firm and emphasizes the importance of measuring the firm’s capacity and subject matter expertise for the specific deal.

Ronan says entrepreneurs should neither passively stick with existing counsel, nor seek out the seek out the biggest, most renowned firm he or she knows. When the time comes to sell, it is time to find the legal team that will best represent the client's interests. The entrepreneur should challenge his or her existing counsel and ask any alternative firm to respond to all the relevant criteria. Then the entrepreneur should interview the financial professionals and other business owners who know the firms in question to understand how these lawyers made the difference for their clients.