The August edition of New Jersey Lawyer, the magazine of the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA), takes a look at a variety of timely issues in venture capital and private equity, from challenges faced by women and minority entrepreneurs to the pandemic’s effect on merger and acquisition deals.
Practitioners in other areas will find helpful features that can improve their practice as well, such as tips on how to be a good adversary by New Jersey State Bar Association President-Elect Jeralyn L. Lawrence; why you need a strong password; and recruitment and retention advice for law firms in a post-pandemic world.
The issue begins with articles about some of the financial instruments commonly used in venture capital and private equity. Anthony Wilkins provides a primer on convertible notes and SAFEs, an acronym for simple agreement for future equity, which are commonly used to finance high-growth startups. Steven Cohen, Benjamin Novak and Evan McGillian discuss changes to the model legal documents published by the National Venture Capital Association.
The magazine takes a broader look at venture capital and private equity with an article by Onome Adejmilua, who writes about the obstacles faced by women and minority entrepreneurs, particularly in accessing capital, and how New Jersey is playing an active role in closing the funding gap.
The pandemic has had an impact on just about every aspect of life, and the investment world is no exception. Jason Navarino and Christine Restrepo analyze the pandemic’s impact on the exit strategy for owners of successful businesses who consider selling to either strategic or financial buyers. And Michael Zussman and Jacob Shulman write about the pandemic’s effect from the perspective of a seller of a middle-market target company. The issue rounds out with a full discussion of earnouts from W. Raymond Felton, who reviews various issues to consider when negotiating these complicated mechanisms. And finally, Grace Mack and NJSBA Trustee Michael Schaff contribute an article on practical issues for healthcare entities to consider when reviewing potential private equity investment transactions.
To read the latest issue of New Jersey Lawyer and past editions, click on the members tab at njsba.com.