Most lawyers are good at identifying issues, but legal due diligence shouldn’t be limited to merely reviewing documents and identifying issues.

Here are my five steps for conducting legal due diligence:

1. Identify the issues based on the scope of legal due diligence as agreed with the clients.

2. Provide recommendations and solutions for the identified issues.

3. Categorise issues by their level of risk and seriousness.

4. Explain the categorisation, such as identifying issues which are deal breakers if not resolved, issues to be addressed in transaction documents, and issues to take note of. Without the explanation, the categorisation in step 3 may not be helpful to the clients.

5. Consider when issues should be resolved- whether before the parties execute transaction agreements, before the agreements become unconditional, or within a certain time period after the completion of the transaction.

#malaysiancorporatelawyer
#legalduediligence

This post first appeared on LinkedIn on 28 September 2023.