M&A and Strategic Deals Day

Get in early to meet your fellow in-house legal corporate deal-doers over a delicious breakfast from Crafty Counsel’s favourite caterers.

Join Crafty Counsel’s Founder, Ben, and Head of Community, Toby, for a welcome address on what to expect during the day. We’ll also be running an interactive “Unconference” exercise on what is top of mind for in-house lawyers working on strategic deals, and what you want to get from the day.

Current trends in share purchase practice, and how things can vary depending on who’s on the other side We bring to the stage a panel of experts from private practice, M&A insurance, and in-house legal, to address and compare market trends across private equity and strategic transactions.

Inside: Corporate Development? Treasury? Comms? Audit? The C-Suite? Outside: law firms? Regulators? The target? Goodness, all you’re doing is a high value acquisition with the potential to transform your business, and suddenly you have more stakeholders than you can even count. And, so often, it’s the legal team sitting in the middle, bringing order to chaos, and getting the deal across the line. A panel dedicated to stakeholder management, then - featuring experts from three very different businesses.

Navigating the dynamics when working in a business being acquired It’s not easy being on the inside. You may be the business's expert corporate lawyer, but things get complicated when you’re pulled between the interests of shareholders, your colleagues, your board, and the acquirer (your future employer?). Layer on regulatory questions around who is your client and where are your duties owed, and things get complicated fast.

Join your peers in smaller groups as we break into three workshops to discuss the morning's sessions. Meet the speakers up close, share your concerns with peers who "get it", and rotate between the three sessions across the hour. *Chatham House Rule applies*

An hour devoted to building connections and relationships over a delicious lunch.

Reflecting on your experiences - we kick off the by reviewing the morning’s flash poll on what is top of mind. Facilitator: Toby Hornett, Head of Community, Crafty Counsel

We end the day by reflecting together on the morning’s sessions, and by bringing to the stage a friend from private practice to address what makes a great client during a stressful and important deal.

According to Harvard Business Review, over 70% of M&A deals ultimately fail. We all know that a key reason for deal failure is where the parties neglect to focus on life after the exciting deal announcement - a failure to focus on integration. This panel explores real stories of making deals work (and how to avoid the opposite, with a focus on talent, culture, and expectation management.

Aligning interests and getting to the right outcome in high growth exits. In this session, we welcome lawyers from high growth technology, venture capital, and growth equity, to discuss how to work with founders and how to execute win/win early stage deals.

Join your peers in smaller groups as we break into three workshops to discuss the afternoon’s sessions. Meet the speakers up close, share your concerns with peers who "get it", and rotate between the three sessions across the hour. *Chatham House Rule applies*

A fireside chat on what one General Counsel learned from a transformational deal in the Tech sector - and what they’d do differently next time.

End the day with a wrap up tea, coffee, and/or cake with your peers before going home. Take the opportunity to exchange details with new friends, ask follow-up questions of the panelists, and generally wrap up on the best footing.