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Robert S. Schwartz, Esq. Judges ABA Business Law Mergers and Acquisitions National Student Tournament
Robert S. Schwartz of the Herold Law firm was welcomed among the Business Law Mergers and Acquisitions practitioners judging Round 2 of the American Bar Association, Business Law Section’s Mergers and Acquisitions Committee MAC III National Invitational Tournament.
This October, for the third time in ABA history, sixty-four anonymous two-person teams from forty-eight anonymous law schools began with Round 1 of a Buyer and Seller’s counsel negotiation of legal terms of the sale of a $300,000MM closely held, entertainment and internet ticketing and promotional business to a successful, much larger company willing to pay cash at closing, but wanting to be protected from the seller’s identified and possible business-related liabilities.
Mr. Schwartz describes his co-judging of assigned Matches 6 and 9 of the Round 2 negotiations on Saturday, November 1, 2025, as “… participating in a ‘Lightning Round’ of a TV game show.” This way of his experiencing the event was despite his having gotten a good grasp on the hypothetical deal’s facts and circumstances, the principals’ major concerns arising from them, and the text of two marked-up versions of a “neutral” Asset Purchase Agreement.
Mr. Schwartz reports in retrospect that the keys to the law students’ relative performance had to have been the time spent in preparation and their discipline in keeping within their tournament guideline of getting to “yes” on the deal’s legal terms, such as those of the scope of a seller’s indemnity of a buyer post-sale, as against each side necessarily starting out seeking the most favorable terms for their clients. He adds that the students’ relative knowledge about the relevant federal statutes or regulations, Delaware corporate law, and court decisions, and recent times’ statistical studies of M&A deal terms were distinguishing characteristics.
This worthwhile MAC III Invitational Tournament is now proceeding forward with 16 remaining negotiating teams scheduled for the quarter-final negotiations later this month, leading to the semi-finals in December with a live final round to be held at the ABA Mergers and Acquisitions Committee’s annual meeting on January 29, 2026, to January 30, 2026, in Laguna Beach, California. For more information, one may proceed to the ABA Mergers and Acquisitions Committee’s website or to the tournament host website – Dexterity Legal – an M&A transaction negotiating platform.
Herold Law, P.A. is a premier multi-practice law firm, offering a range of services including commercial litigation, insurance, real estate, and tax law matters. To learn more, call 908-679-5011 or contact us online to schedule a consultation. Located in Warren, we serve clients across New Jersey.
