Russell M. Franklin
Partner – Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP

 

Description of field of expertise

Russell Franklin counsels global private and publicly held companies in connection with structuring, and effecting, complex strategic transactions. This includes structuring and negotiating mergers and acquisitions (M&A), minority investments, and joint venture transactions for strategic and financial clients including private equity firms. His practice also includes general stock and asset transactions, and purchases and sales resulting from bankruptcy and out-of-court restructurings. Russell is a member of Morgan Lewis’ SPAC Task Force and routinely counsels clients contemplating SPAC and de-SPACing transactions.

 

What advice would you offer to new attorneys interested in your field?

On the transactional side, both the buyer and the seller win in effecting a transaction (they both get what they deem to be the higher value asset). Given that construct, the focus cannot be on “winning” as that doesn’t have the meaning it does on the disputes side of the firm. The job is to understand what your client really cares about, demonstrate that you know what they really want, that you know how to get it, and will do so as if their goal is your own. Put simply, your job is to give your client the comfort needed to sleep soundly at night notwithstanding the fact that it is an incredibly stressful time. That requires an understanding of the law, but it also requires much more than that.

 

Final thoughts…

We spend so much time trying to prove to everyone else that we are good enough and that we can do what others say we cannot. Yet, we spend very little time asking ourselves “why” we are doing what we are doing and what truly makes us happy. Figure out your purpose, not what other people tell you your purpose should be.