redactedA prospective client recently asked me what sets me apart from other deal lawyers. I didn’t have a good answer. I’d spent years helping owners explain what makes their businesses worth buying, and I’d never stopped to answer that question about myself. So I sat with it. I realized the more useful question is what owners should look for in any deal lawyer. Your lawyer shapes what you actually walk away with: how much of the price is held back, what you’re on the hook for after closing, and what happens if something goes wrong. Here are seven questions to ask before you hire one. 1. How many deals like mine do you close each year? Not deals in general. Deals of your size, in your type of business. Experience at the right scale matters more than a long list of practice areas. 2. Who will actually do the work? Ask who negotiates, who drafts, and who you call when something comes up at 4:45 on a Friday. 3. When should I bring you in? A good answer is “before you sign the letter of intent.” Most of a deal’s economics are set at that stage, and they’re hard to renegotiate later. 4. How do you work with my accountant, broker and lender? Share sale or asset sale is a tax question as much as a legal one. Your advisors should be working together, not taking turns. 5. How do you handle problems? Every deal hits a few. Ask how they’ve dealt with a tough issue in the past. You want someone who looks for a way through, not someone who only lists risks. 6. What will it cost, and what happens if it runs over? Ask for a written quote. Ask what’s included and how overages are handled. Clear terms up front prevent hard conversations later. 7. How quickly will you get back to me? Deals have momentum. Slow replies cost time, and sometimes the deal. Last, trust your read of the person. You’ll be working closely with them for months, often during one of the biggest financial decisions of your life.