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How Do You Buy Assets From a Bankrupt Company?
by Scott Edward Walker on November 17th, 2010Introduction
This post was originally part of my “Ask the Attorney” series which I am writing for VentureBeat (one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs). Below is a longer, more comprehensive version. Please shoot me any questions you may have in the comments section – or feel free to call me directly at 415-979-9998. Many thanks, Scott
5 Biggest Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make in Selling Their Company
by Scott Edward Walker on October 6th, 2010Introduction
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are definitely starting to come back to life. In fact, we’ve recently been retained on a couple of new sell-side, middle-market M&A transactions. Accordingly, I thought I’d briefly share with you the five biggest mistakes I’ve seen entrepreneurs make in connection with selling their company, based on my 16+ years of M&A experience.
Dear Entrepreneurs: Choose Your Own Legal Counsel
by Scott Edward Walker on September 8th, 2010Introduction
The purpose of this post is expand upon my answer to the question on Quora:
“What should you do as a startup when a Bay Area VC insists that you use their expensive legal counsel?”
Mark Suster, a VC at GRP Partners, has also written and spoken about how he likes to “share” his legal counsel with the startup in which he is investing. My advice to entrepreneurs is clear: push back hard on this issue and choose your own strong, independent legal counsel – i.e., a law firm that’s going to work hard to protect you and watch your back.
Ask the Business Attorney: Non-Disclosure Agreements
by Scott Edward Walker on May 26th, 2010Introduction
This post is part of the “Ask the Attorney” series I am writing for VentureBeat (one of the most popular websites for entrepreneurs). Below is a longer, more-comprehensive version of the VentureBeat post.
Walker Twitter Highlights: December 6th – 12th
by Scott Edward Walker on December 13th, 2009For those of you who missed this week’s Twitter updates, below you’ll find highlights of our top tweets. If you would like to see all of our tweets (or if you would like to receive an RSS feed of them), you can do so here.
If you have any questions or comments with respect to any of the tweets below, please contact us through the comments section of this post. Many thanks, Scott
Buying a Distressed Business: Ten Tips For Entrepreneurs
by Scott Edward Walker on October 19th, 2009I remember post-“9/11” working at a major law firm in New York City and watching all of the transactions on my plate fall apart. Indeed, then (like now), as credit dried-up, the M&A pendulum swung to the acquisition of distressed (i.e., financially-troubled) companies; however, as I learned first-hand, acquiring a distressed company raises a host of significant risks and potential problems that are not typically found in the acquisition of a healthy, solvent company (which I recently discussed here). Below are ten tips for entrepreneurs who are looking to get into the distressed M&A game. They relate to two different contexts: (i) prior to (or absent) a distressed target’s Chapter 11 filing — i.e., the non-bankruptcy context; and (ii) after a distressed target’s Chapter 11 filing — i.e., the bankruptcy context. (more…)
Buying A Business: Ten Tips For Entrepreneurs
by Scott Edward Walker on October 6th, 2009As I have previously noted, I was a corporate attorney for nearly eight years at two major law firms in New York City, and the majority of my work there was spent negotiating and documenting large mergers and acquisitions for multinational corporations, financial institutions and private equity firms. When I moved here to California in 2005 and started focusing on representing entrepreneurs (which meant predominately middle-market M&A transactions), I was surprised to see how unsophisticated a lot of the players are; in short, it’s a different environment than New York. Nevertheless, I love helping entrepreneurs, and I am trying to provide to them (via these blog posts) some legal tips and lessons I learned at the big firms in New York City. Below are ten tips for entrepreneurs and founders who are contemplating acquiring a private company. (more…)