10 RULES FOR ENSURING EFFICIENT TRANSACTIONS

1. Transaction
2. Consultation
3. Strategy
4. Attitude
5. Independence
6. Internacional
7. Creativity
8. Efficiency
9. Permanent
10. Contact
    

1. Look for a law firm that suits you.

More and more mega law firms - particularly those from the Anglo-American world - are trying to control the global market for corporate transactions by acquiring national law firms. However, as these mergers get bigger, they become more commercialised and are run as enterprises themselves. Revenue becomes more important than client relationships.

What matters to you is not sheer size, but a firm that is best qualified to handle every stage of your transaction. This is where a law firm's independence, flexibility and its network of contacts prove their worth. The only way to ensure intelligent and efficient transaction management is by choosing a law firm that not only implements your project as simply as possible and ensures that it is legally watertight, but also structures it intelligently from a tax perspective.

2. Do not only use your head when choosing a law firm.

It is really academic whether you and your advisor share the same personality traits, or whether he complements you, although prudence and a conscientious approach are always a must. Negotiating skills and tactics are equally essential, not only when drawing up contracts but also in the courtroom. The truly decisive point, though, is whether your advisor understands your values and your motives, whether he can grasp your business goals and make them his own without straining credibility. If you are talking to a law firm that shares a common set of values while at the same time being managed by independent personalities, you are on the right track. Because in such a firm you'll find the advisor you most relate to - a lawyer who deserves your trust.

When you talk to a lawyer for the first time, listen to your instincts: are you happy with him learning the details of your plans and motives so that he can help you achieve your goals in all stages of the process, from strategic planning through to implementation?

3. Only talk to an expert who is also a generalist.

You are looking for a firm in which lawyers and tax advisors tackle demanding cases with economic implications. A firm whose advice is known to help further its clients' business success, and that is particularly skilled in negotiating and drafting contracts. Alternatively, you may be looking for an advisor who understands real estate law and property transactions, or the problems associated with succession.

Nor should you stop there: expect an understanding of the way business works, financial and tax expertise and, last but not least: negotiating skills and experience in developing business strategy, tactics and psychology. All this means that your "experts" also have to be generalists - people who keep sight of the big picture throughout a transaction.

Feel free to discuss your situation, your point of view and your plans openly. This is the only way you can find out whether the lawyer you are talking to can assimilate the details of your business quickly and, even more importantly, whether he can use them to achieve the goal behind your transaction.

4. Insist on distance if you are looking for a close relationship.

Transactions can never be "business as usual" - particularly for you, as one of the people in the driving seat. In fact, they are complex and dynamic processes. You will only be able - or permitted - to keep a small number of people in the loop at all times. Many phases of your project entail major risks, not least for you personally. You will quickly feel lonely if you don't have an advisor who can lead you safe and sound through your transaction. He is your most important guide during these crucial phases for you and your company, because his only duty is to you.

When do you benefit most from your lawyer? Not when he slavishly adopts your point of view. Not when he is prepared to help implement your project unconditionally - even if you want him to. Experience shows that such an approach is guaranteed to end in tears. And that getting too close to his clients does not make an advisor any better. In fact, the more demands an advisor makes of you and the more standards he sets himself in his work, the more energetic and focused he will be in managing and implementing your project. Expect your advisor to visit you, at home and at work. And expect awkward questions.

Protect yourself, not least from your own vanity. Do not buy yourself a lawyer. Look to create a partnership with him, and accept the fact that he will maintain a certain distance from you. Demand the objectivity that a responsible advisor will offer. This is the best way for him to protect you and your interests.

5. Talk to a lawyer who thinks like an entrepreneur

Personal independence. Charisma. The ability to think like a visionary and inspire others. True decisiveness, not just mere decision-making authority. Stamina. The willingness to take risks and accept responsibility. A good entrepreneur has many qualities. Find out how many of these are important to your chosen lawyer:

Is he independent? If he practises in a major law firm, is he one of the partners? Even if you can answer "yes" to this question, you are still not quite home and dry. How independent is your advisor in economic terms within the firm?

When you meet your advisor, you will soon know how far his business independence reaches. Does he say things like "I feel responsible for my clients" or "We see ourselves as self-employed professionals who can act independently". Statements such as these by an advisor about himself or his practice reveal the extent to which he can represent your interests when needed.

6. If necessary, look for a lawyer who is just as at home on the international stage.

The Internet has enabled small and medium-sized regional companies to operate successfully in international markets. And an increasing number of transactions cross national borders. Find out whether your law firm is prepared for such a project.

Can differences in tax laws be exploited for a transaction? Is it sensible to relocate your headquarters to a foreign country after acquiring a company there? Of course, the ability to negotiate successfully in foreign languages is essential to answer these questions. Feel free to ask your lawyer if he has done any additional training abroad and about any partner firms in foreign countries, and demand that these are chosen for their quality and are known personally to your advisor.

7. Expect creativity from your lawyer.

Let us assume that you have decided on an advisor and that you can expect him to have an in-depth knowledge of commercial and tax law. Let us also assume that this advisor rapidly presents you with an outstanding evaluation of your project. At last, you are getting close to the central - and most challenging - aspect of an ambitious transaction lawyer's work. He must now decide whether to offer you a prefabricated, routine approach or whether to tailor the implementation of your project exactly to your needs. The narrower the room for manoeuvre gets, the more valuable the creativity of your lawyer becomes.

If he can think unconventionally and react fast, he can rapidly turn an obstacle into an opportunity. If he is courageous, decisive and positive, he will be able to justify a new solution just as well as a tried and tested one. If he can look beyond his everyday duties, he will be capable of one or two surprises. And if, on top of all this, he has experience of solving a wide variety of problems, you can be sure that he will come up with innovative, unconventional solutions.

8. Don't just look for an optimum result - find out how fast you will achieve it.

Even the best negotiations are of little use if the results come too late and a competitor gets in before you. A whole range of clues will tell you how fast and effectively a law firm is able to act.

Transparency is a particularly important aspect when working with a law firm. From the outset, insist on direct, personal contact with your lawyer, and make sure that he does not pass you on to someone else or even hand your project over to one of his employees after your first meeting. This is the only way to quickly build a relationship that is based on trust and that will provide the advice you need to succeed. Only by interacting directly with you can your lawyer develop an individual solution which is optimally tailored to your interests and to your specific business, financial and personal circumstances. This makes sense not only when negotiating a contract, but also when drawing up a comprehensive set of contracts or a will. You should therefore make sure that your lawyer has a feel for the unique aspects of your project.

Your lawyer must have direct control of your transaction at all times. If he deploys a team, it should be small and dynamic and in charge of your project from beginning to end. This means that your lawyer will be able to judge at all times whether you can still achieve your goal through negotiations or whether, for example, you will have to take legal action to assert your rights.

In short: everything in your law firm should be geared towards making sure you achieve an optimum result in a short period of time.

9. Avoid Pyrrhic victories. Insist on a long-term solution.

Demand that the means your lawyer uses are appropriate. Insist that he always prefers amicable negotiation to confrontation. A transaction will only be successful if it is future-proof. And in many cases, it can only be successful if it results in a win-win situation. This means that your lawyer must be able to understand the motives and circumstances of your prospective partner. Once you have chosen the right lawyer, allow him to help provide the decisive impetus for a successful transaction.

It is often better to settle out of court than to take a dispute through all the instances. However, if you feel that you have no option but to take legal action, be sure that your law firm has enough experience of court work to handle your case, so that the outcome will be in your favour.

Please bear in mind that fighting a legal action on all fronts is like fighting a war. It costs money and energy. And even if you win, you have only won in court. Your joy will be relatively short-lived if you want - or are obliged - to do business with your opponent afterwards. Because where there are winners, there are always losers. And losing a legal action often destroys an opponent's ego. Ask yourself seriously whether you are interested in an opponent who could make it difficult or even impossible for you to cooperate successfully with them after a bitter defeat.

10. Call this number: +34-965-161606