A client recently sold their business. The buyer was trained in negotiating skills. Unfortunately my client was too trusting of the buyer, and too close to his lawyers.
Came the day for settling and a lot of money was left off the settlement statement (the overs and unders that have to be counted on handover) because certain things had not been thought of by the lawyers – e.g. commissions on deposits received for presales of future accommodation, stock on hand that the new buyer argued at the last minute he didn’t like and didn’t want to pay for. “It’s not in the contract!” became the buyer’s mantra. These things could have been easily made bullet proof. Trouble was the lawyers didn’t understand the business, and the people who did – yes the accounting people – hadn’t been invited to peruse final drafts beforehand.
Lawyers are good at giving legal effect to an agreement. But they need to be properly briefed.
Moral … make sure you consult with someone who understands your business: just what it is you want your lawyers to reflect in any legal agreement involving your business. And who understands your business best? Your accountant!
