Most valuations follow a traditional pathway, with only slight differences between public and private companies: 1. Determine a valuation range based on the values of comparable public companies 2. Determine a valuation range based on the values revealed by transactions involving comparable companies 3. Perform a discounted cash flow analysis Using the three legs of…

Since I’ve been involved in the legal profession — fifteen years now — firms and general counsel have been talking about alternative fee structures. The failings of the billable hour system as well as the reasons for its persistence in the face of its demise in most other professional services businesses, e.g., medicine, consulting, have…

We’ve written before about decisiveness, the skill of being able to make decisions quickly, particularly in an environment of uncertainty and obviously incomplete information. Recognizing that not only will you never have access to complete information that is also completely reliable is just one piece of the puzzle. You also have to recognize that delaying…

In both my past as a corporate lawyer and as a strategic advisor, I often find myself drawing deal diagrams for a variety of parties. Even among those familiar with deal diagrams, I have not found any great uniformity in the choice of shapes; most people go with rectangles all around. However, having been in…