Key Takeaways
- A general business attorney may not have the experience needed to manage the complexities of a veterinary practice sale.
- An experienced M&A attorney understands disclosure schedules, negotiations, and the overall transaction process, helping reduce delays.
- Veterinary-specific M&A attorneys know industry norms and can focus negotiations on the terms that truly matter.
- Unnecessary legal delays can put a transaction at risk, making experienced legal counsel an important part of your advisory team.
- Working with professionals who regularly handle veterinary practice sales can help create a smoother, more efficient closing.
When preparing to sell a veterinary practice, most owners know they’ll need an attorney. The bigger question is whether their longtime attorney is the right person for the job.
According to Matt Arena, CEO of 360 Vet Sales, the answer often depends on experience. While a trusted general attorney may know your business well, selling a veterinary practice is very different from handling everyday legal matters. Mergers and acquisitions involve specialized documents, disclosure schedules, negotiations, and timelines that require a different skill set.
General Counsel vs. M&A Attorney
The first distinction Matt makes is between a general business attorney and an attorney who regularly handles mergers and acquisitions. An experienced M&A attorney understands the transaction process from beginning to end. They know how to prepare disclosure schedules, navigate data rooms, coordinate with buyers, and keep the legal process moving efficiently. That experience helps reduce stress for the seller while minimizing unnecessary delays.
By contrast, an attorney without M&A experience may spend additional time learning the process, requesting unnecessary revisions, or negotiating issues that don’t ultimately affect the outcome. Every delay increases the risk that something changes before closing.
As Matt points out, time kills deals.
Why Veterinary Experience Matters
Not every M&A attorney is automatically the right fit, either. Matt explains that attorneys who regularly work on veterinary transactions understand the industry’s expectations and the approaches taken by the major corporate buyers. They’ve negotiated similar agreements many times before, so they know which provisions are standard, which terms are negotiable, and where it’s worth pushing back.
Without that experience, attorneys may spend valuable time negotiating items that simply aren’t going to change. The result is often more legal back-and-forth, higher legal fees, additional stress, and unnecessary delays without improving the final agreement.
Experience Can Help You Get More from the Deal
Veterinary-specific experience isn’t just about avoiding problems—it can also create opportunities. Because these attorneys have reviewed agreements from multiple buyers, they often recognize provisions that have been successfully negotiated in other transactions. If another buyer commonly offers a more favorable term, an experienced veterinary M&A attorney knows to ask for it.
That broader perspective allows them to identify opportunities that a general attorney, or even an M&A attorney without veterinary experience, may never think to request.
Building the Right Team Before You Sell
Choosing the right attorney is just one piece of building a successful transaction team, but it’s an important one. The legal process shouldn’t become the reason a deal slows down or falls apart. Working with professionals who understand veterinary practice sales can help keep the transaction moving, reduce unnecessary stress, and improve the likelihood of a successful closing.
If you’re considering selling your veterinary practice, the team at 360 Vet Sales can help you assemble the right advisory team, including experienced veterinary M&A attorneys, to guide you through the process from start to finish.