A CAREER IN MERGERS

AND ACQUISITIONS
Mergers and Acquisition (M&A) lawyers provide advice to clients
on buying and selling businesses. It’s a popular area of practice
in Australia – as it’s high earning, consistently busy and extremely
diverse. So if you’re looking for a challenging field where you can flex
your creativity and think strategically, M&A may be for you.

M&A in a nutshell
M&A transactions are among the most complex and significant events an organisation can
go through. They have consequences that reverberate both internally and externally for years
afterwards.
As its name suggests, M&A lawyers advise their clients on two types of transactions:
1. Mergers: two companies combining as equals
2. Acquisitions: one company acquires part or whole of another company
The M&A environment is subject to major scrutiny by regulators and investors who are becoming
increasingly sophisticated. Therefore, clients need outstanding advice from the outset – to
achieve their commercial objectives while remaining compliant.
As an M&A lawyer, your role is to:
• Advise on the legal, strategic and commercial aspects of the transaction
• Assist in structuring the transaction
• Negotiate the terms of the agreement
• Draft the sales documentation
• Help your client achieve their ideal outcome
If your client is the buyer, your role will also involve due diligence and protecting your client’s
investment. When your client is selling, your focus is to negotiate the best possible deal and make
sure the exit is clean.
Whichever side your client is on, it is vital you manage their risk at all stages.
Personal strengths of an M&A practitioner
To be a successful M&A lawyer, you need to be an organised, articulate and
lateral thinker. These are some of the key traits that will help you thrive in the
M&A sector.
Creative and strategic thinking
Every transaction you work on will pose unique
challenges.
This will require you to be creative and strategic
in your thinking – as you help your client structure
and negotiate their merger or acquisition.
Lateral thinking and the ability to see ‘the big
picture’ will help you achieve the best possible
outcome for your client.
Communication
Written and verbal skills are critical in this area of
law. You’ll need to communicate regularly with
clients to understand their business objectives
and present recommendations.
You will also need to distil advice from the
different parties involved in the transaction and
clearly communicate it to your client so they can
make informed decisions.
Project management
To be successful in this field, you will need to excel
at self and group management.
M&A is a large multidisciplinary effort and
your job will often involve coordinating and
supervising many parties – including corporate
advisors, accountants, financiers and more.
Driven and focused
M&A lawyers need to be focused on the ultimate
goal and objectives of the acquisition or sale of
the target company by maximising value to their
client’s transaction.
To accomplish this, you’ll need to be diligent,
resourceful, willing to put in the hard work – and
unafraid to ask the tough questions.
A diverse area of the law
Core expertise of an M&A lawyer

Due diligence Negotiation Drafting

If you’re representing the buyer,
you will thoroughly examine all
relevant information about the
company your client is acquiring.
You will look at:
• Your client’s liabilities and
other obligations
• Any intellectual property issus
• The risk of litigation
If you are representing the
seller, you will be involved in
facilitating due diligence for the
buying party.
In any merger or acquisition, the M&A lawyers regularly draft:
valuation and offered price are
• Letters of intent
negotiable.
• Correspondence with other
Whether you’re representing
lawyers
the buyer or seller, your role is to
work hard to achieve your client’s • Acquisition agreements
ideal outcome – and this often
• Financial agreements
involves negotiation.
• Sales documentation
You will advise your client on:
• Third-party consents from
• If they should negotiate
lenders or parties to other
• The best negotiation tactics contracts
• Whether to accept or refuse
an offer

Related areas of expertise

• Tax law • Intellectual property law • Property law
• Finance law • Antitrust law

Career prospects in M&A

Despite geopolitical and global trade challenges, the local and international M&A sector continues to be strong.
In 2019, Deloitte reported that the global M&A sector continues to surpass expectations – having exceeded the
US$3 trillion annual mark for four consecutive years.
What’s more, while a career in M&A can be demanding and challenging, you will receive generous financial
compensation for your hard work.

“The College’s Mergers & Acquisitions subject is designed

to accelerate your professional learning. You are mentored
and guided in practical and hands-on training using real-life
scenarios, executing tasks, and using tools that are commonly
deployed together with the logic and rationale behind cross-
border M&A structures.”
Raphael Tay - Director, LLM ASEAN+6 Program at The College of Law Asia, and
Partner at Lee Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill.
How to become a Mergers and Acquisitions lawyer
Bachelor of Laws (LLB) 3-4 years
1 Complete a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) undergraduate degree. If offered by your law
school, undertake an M&A elective as one of your subjects.

Practical Legal Training (PLT) < 1 year

2 Complete your Practical Legal Training (PLT). The College of Law offers a Practical
Legal Training Program.

Practising Certificate from the Legal Profession Admission Board

3 Be formally admitted by your state regulatory body.

Supervised practice at a law firm (18-24 months)

4 Complete supervised practice at a law firm, preferably within a firm with a strong
Mergers and Acquisitions practice

Continuous learning to further your expertise

5 Additional learning in the form of:
• Professional Development Programs in M&A
• Postgraduate Specialisation Programs in M&A. Membership of M&A related
bodies (IPBA, Law Society chapters)
Correct as of 11/5/2020

Interested in our Mergers and

Acquisitions Practice subject?
Learn more at www.collaw.edu.au/crossborder-practice