The MAC Cup II law student M&A negotiation competition has launched! Sixty-four student teams from forty-six schools across the US and Canada are squaring off in multiple qualifying rounds to join the “Final Four” in-person championship in Laguna Beach, California, and to win awards for best agreement mark-ups, all while learning to advocate their (made-up) clients’ positions.
The ABA Business Law Section’s M&A Committee launched the inaugural MAC Cup last year, with Nada Abousena and Grace Baer of American University taking top honors in front of the membership of the M&A Committee and a panel of invited judges. The M&A Committee has expanded this year’s MAC Cup to include more teams, more negotiations, and more awards, with continued access for students to M&A practitioners and professional M&A resources, promising to make the MAC Cup the premier hands-on transactional learning experience for law students with a passion for M&A.
“We’re giving law school students opportunities to learn about and apply M&A negotiation skills, like the litigation opportunities they get during the more traditional moot court,” said Mike O’Bryan, immediate past chair of the M&A Committee. “We want students to think about M&A as a significant part of their legal careers and to develop some practical skills to get them started.”
Building on Past Success
This year’s participation figures highlight the growing importance and reach of the competition.
“This year, we had eighty-nine applications,” said Thaddeus Chase, a member of the M&A Committee subcommittee that runs the MAC Cup. “This represents a 75 percent increase in submissions. And our targets will be even more aggressive for MAC Cup III.”
Other members of the MAC Cup subcommittee are O’Bryan, Wilson Chu, Glenn West, Tom Romer, Caroline Shinkle, and Sacha Jamal. All are members of the M&A Committee and practicing M&A attorneys, though Romer recently left the practice to form Dexterity, a digital negotiation platform designed for M&A (and now hosting the MAC Cup documents). Curtis Anderson, a professor at BYU Law School and former practicing outside and in-house M&A counsel, also is on the subcommittee and brings experience in organizing law school competitions.
“This year, by expanding the field, we’ve provided more students/law schools the opportunity to gain experience from the competition and the chance to compete,” said Chase. “It allows for more students to become connected and build a network across law schools and the M&A Committee. We’ve also built in the wrinkle that students may need to switch sides (i.e., from Buyer to Seller or from Seller to Buyer) with a week’s notice—we think this pushes students to think critically and drives home the point that the best outcome for a deal is usually somewhere in the middle (not everyone wins every point/issue).”
Learning New Skills
What do students learn?
M&A concepts; critical thinking; understanding the meaning of a “win” in M&A transactions; and the knowledge that this competition is not done in isolation: students can leverage the advice, guidance, and support of participating legal practitioners.
“The synergy between the law students and our members (whether as judges or coaches) is really dynamic and reflects the M&A Committee’s commitment to provide practical training to a new generation of M&A lawyers,” said Caroline Shinkle, a subcommittee member who has witnessed the excitement and rewards of this competition.
“Without a doubt, there is a level of seriousness that permeates student participation,” said Shinkle. “And yet this seriousness is tempered by the excitement created by the coaches and judges—generating a level of interaction rarely seen at this level.”
The Challenge of a Competitive Path
For students to make the “Final Four” is an indication of their hard work and negotiation skills—but also the strategic planning and coping skills needed to survive all phases of the competition.
The MAC Cup II schedule is intense:
- Initial issues list and Acquisition Agreement mark-up due: October 21, 2024
- First Open Round: October 26–27, 2024 (virtual)
- Second round issues list and Acquisition Agreement mark-up due: October 30, 2024
- Second Open Round: November 2–3, 2024 (virtual)
- Elite 8 Quarterfinal Negotiation Matches: January 25, 2024 (virtual)
- Semifinals: January 30, 2025 (in person), Laguna Beach, California
- Finals: January 31, 2025 (in person), Laguna Beach, California
Opportunities for Lawyers
The competition provides opportunities for M&A practitioners to work with the students as judges or coaches. For the MAC Cup II, while the qualifying rounds are completed, lawyers still can act as judges in the virtual “Elite Eight” or the in-person “Final Four” rounds in January—if you’re interested, contact Thaddeus Chase (at [email protected]). In the longer run, there also will be opportunities for lawyers to recruit competitors and to coach or judge in next year’s MAC Cup III.
“At each stage, from initial issue spotting through final negotiations, students benefit from the legal talents of M&A Committee members who serve as judges and coaches,” said Romer.
Line Up to Be a Part of MAC Cup II
An impressive list of sponsors has already lined up to be part of MAC Cup II: M&A supporting companies Thomson Reuters, Hotshot, and Dexterity, and law firms Sullivan & Cromwell, Ropes & Gray, McDermott Will & Emery, Freshfields, Goodwin, Morrison Foerster, and Morris James. And the list is only getting longer!
“The sponsors have recognized that transactional skills have been sadly lacking in law student graduates. We’re changing that with the opportunities provided by the MAC Cup,” said Wilson Chu, former M&A Committee chair. “The transactional skills learned by students are invaluable.”
As the excitement leading up to the Laguna championship heats up, it has been proven, once again, that the BLS M&A Committee is at the forefront in its commitment to improving the knowledge and skills of law students throughout the nation.