(published on LinkedIn July 16, 2019)
Fact, you have a great group of advisors who are there for you. One morning, you are pleasantly surprised when you are contacted by a credible third party who is interested in buying your company for a substantial sum and she presents you with a letter of intent (LOI). You read it through carefully and you contact the buyer to let her know that you are all set to go, but you just want to run it by your lawyer first. You tell her, “No big deal, I just want his quick review… I’ll have it to you by noon.” You email this message to her at 6:45 p.m., just before you leave for the night. The last thing you do before leaving your office is send the LOI to your attorney, asking him to review it so that you can sign it and send it to the buyer by noon on Tuesday (of course, it is now 7:00 p.m. on Monday night).
Your lawyer wants to please you, trust me, he does. Clearly, he has been waiting all day for your email. In fact, when he woke up on Monday morning, he had a feeling that you would get an unsolicited offer to sell your business and that he would have to review the LOI quickly. If it is not obvious, the last two sentences were written sarcastically.
Successful transactions require all parties to set reasonable expectations. If your attorney had nothing to do and was just waiting around for your email, you probably should switch attorneys. Most of us are busy — very busy — and that’s the way you want it: this means that we are in demand, working with clients on matters similar to yours. What we learn on a daily basis can then be applied to your matters for your benefit.
The lesson here — be realistic. You cannot reasonably anticipate that your attorney will be able to drop everything for you, review, analyze and potentially revise a significant document like an LOI “overnight.” If unreasonable expectations are set, everyone will be subject to unnecessary stress, impeding the ability to focus. In fact, the process will take longer under those circumstances.
Speak with your attorney, explain your needs and your wants (two different things) and discuss when you can reasonably expect the work product. It will result in a less stressful process, a better work product and get you to the finish line more quickly.