Post-Khan Era - Good News for Bankers and Law Firms, Maybe Less So for Employees

 Dealmaking has plenty of moving parts and among the humans (AI still hasn't overtaken M&A, at least not yet) operating those parts are bankers and lawyers. Both should be experiencing euphoria that US capitalism is heading into the post-Lina Khan era at the FTC. Appointed by progressive Joe Biden she was a zealot on antitrust measures. In itself that scared off some businesses from even proposing a merger or acquisition.

Yahoo Finance reports:

"Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) dealmaking ticks higher on expectations of deregulation under President-elect Donald Trump. Trump announced Federal Trade Commission (FTC) commissioner Andrew Ferguson as his FTC chair pick to replace Lina Khan."

There is likely to be a dog-maul-dog dynamic among bankers and lawyers to nail those pieces of businesses. It's lucrative. It grabs headlines. It can bring in more business. Throughout professional services the game is new business development. Not bringing in business? Even if you are principal or partner you can be knocked out of the box.

But even the rumor of a M&A can blast an arctic chill through the workplace of any businesses rumored to be taken over or the conqueror. The Harvard Business Review documents that consolidation in the same industry can designate 30% of the jobs redundant. On O'Dwyer's Public Relations, Kevin McCauley covers that possibility in the proposed merger of Omnicom and Interpublic.

Meanwhile there is the revolving door. Heavyweights in federal government can land plum jobs in law firms. Those have included Eric Holder to Covington and Loretta Lynch to Paul Weiss. Khan will probably have her pick of the litter for her Next. 

The top law firms for M&A are:

Top Corporate M&A Law Firms

  1. Cravath, Swaine, & Moore LLP
  2. Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
  3. Kirkland & Ellis LLP
  4. Latham & Watkins LLP
  5. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton, & Garrison LLP
  6. Simpson, Thatcher & Bartlett LLP
  7. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
  8. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
  9. Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
  10. Shearman & Sterling LLP

Given that we are in a White Collar recession, those who lose their jobs may have no place to go. That could especially be the fate of those ove-50.

Coach Jane Genova provides end-to-end career services, ranging from diagnosis of the challenges and fix-it strategies to preparation of resume/cover letters and how to gain control of an interview. She specializes in over-50 issues. For a confidential complimentary consultation please text/phone 203-468-8579 or email janegenova374@gmail.com. Fees custom-made for your unique budget. 


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