In the last quarter I helped two clients sell their companies. That’s nothing new – I help clients sell (and buy) companies and businesses every month. I’m in an extremely privileged position.
These businesses take years, sometimes decades to build. The families behind them have had to take risks - they’ve often borrowed money, chosen to invest in equipment or people, rather than a nice holiday or a nice car, and have lived and breathed the successes and failures of owning a business.
Most of them love their businesses and have a great deal of pride in what they have achieved and finally, when it comes to the last chapter and they are ready to sell, they have chosen me and my team to help them. It’s an amazing feeling and one I never take for granted.
Along that last journey you build a very strong bond with your client. You want them to do well, you want to protect them, and you want to be there when the ink hits the paper and (sometimes) when the tears flow.
These two particular deals were a little different though. I wasn’t there for the final chapter alone; I was there for the entire journey. Start to finish. Company incorporation to exit.
When I qualified as a solicitor, I was still playing a bit of rugby, I still had a fair mop of hair, and I was still able to fit in a moderately sized pair of Levi 501s. It was a long time ago…
During that time, I watched these businesses grow and change, I helped them along the way, and I was (and am) able to call the founders friends. They stuck with me from day one and for that I’ll always be grateful.
And there’s the rub, because the sale of these companies was a little bittersweet.
I think I’m right in saying that on both counts we’d worked together for about 25 years. 25 years is a long time in anything but in a solicitor-client scenario, particularly in the commercial context, it is a little unusual.
Perhaps it’s no surprise then that when I completed those transactions, the joy I felt for my clients was balanced with a little selfish sadness – but I think that’s OK, because it showed how much I cared.
Both of these transactions have been cited in the business press recently so I’m giving nothing away when I say Tim, Paul, Richy, Dave, Jim, Z and Simon – thank you. Thank you for putting your trust in a young lawyer. Thank you for sticking with him. Thank you for allowing him to ride the train with you until the final stop. It was a privilege.
I know I sound like a dinosaur here but to all the young lawyers out there about to board the train. Cherish your clients. Look after them. Be tough when you need to be. Caring when it matters. Be present. Enjoy the journey. Do all that and you’ll have some friends at that final station stop.
On this one, Is it me? Yes, yes it is.
