Deal Selection as Affecting Your Legal Fees
Last Updated on Thursday, 14 July 2011 04:04 Written by Chris Griswold Tuesday, 1 September 2009 09:19
I just had a cute little girl on August 22nd, Mackenzie Leigh Griswold (5lbs-4oz; 18.5 inches). She was a little early (34 weeks) so she had to stay at the NICU at Mercy Hospital here in Oklahoma City. Understandably, my wife Heather and I were a little worried about her at first, however, she’s now doing great, gaining weight and well on her way to keeping me in check (as all fathers know). It’s times like these that I take a step back and look at the world (and my practice) a little differently. The thought that life is short and our time here should be well (or at least better) spent crosses my mind. Accordingly, I’d like to pass along a little “legal wisdom,” if you will, to those of you in the industry as regarding the deals we chose to do vs. the ones we don’t and what kind of consequences can ensue from trying to make the proverbial “wrong shoe fit.” Read more below….
Deal Selection
After having spent my entire career as a commercial real estate transactions lawyer, I’d like to share something with you all, from a legal perspective, about lukewarm deals. It’s not like there is such a thing as a “perfect deal.” At least I’ve never seen one…. However, if you’re looking at a deal that you’re (for whatever reason(s)) not crazy about, odds are, that really won’t change.
Years ago, as a kid, I recall watching a certain episode of Laverne & Shirley. The plot was this: Laverne had met a boy and they were going to get married. To a casually observing stranger, Laverne and the boy seemed to be crazy about one another. However, during the course of the program, Shirley caught onto the fact that Laverne wasn’t really in love at all…. When Shirley finally confronted Laverne about the prospect of being forever married to someone she didn’t really love, Laverne put on her bravest face and said those timeless words: “…Shirley, I’ll learn to love him….”
My point is this…, no amount of money spent on legal fees will fix (or cost effectively fix) a deal which wasn’t good in the first place. Sure, you can do amendments, novations, retro-active effective dates and terminations all you want. However, in the end, you’ll be happier waiting on a deal that works vs. working through one that doesn’t. After all, we all have just one life to live. Let’s spend it (figuratively and literally) wisely.
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