#130 The Hidden Math That Can Shrink Your Deal Payday by Millions

Most business owners sign an LOI for a flashy, headline purchase price and expect to receive that full amount at closing. What they actually receive is often much less and the difference was hiding in plain sight the entire time. James Greifzu has spent his career helping ensure that gap never catches his clients off guard, and in this episode he pulls back the curtain on the soft skills, strategic timing, and financial math that separate successful dealmakers from disappointed ones. In this episode of Lawyers Who Learn, host David Schnurman sits down with James Greifzu, a partner at Wiggin and Dana LLP who advises private equity groups, family offices, and closely held businesses on complex M&A transactions. A former New York big law attorney who lives by “early to bed and early to rise”, James brings a distinctive discipline to both his schedule and his deals. James introduces a framework every business owner should understand before signing anything: the difference between "generally wealthy" and "specifically wealthy" people and why the latter consistently leave money on the table by refusing to take advice. He unpacks the real math behind headline purchase prices and the actual net closing payment to the seller, why getting an M&A attorney involved before the LOI is signed may be your highest-ROI decision, and why being decent at Excel is the easiest way to stand out as a lawyer. James closes with two ideas that stick: what Brave New World taught him about building a great deal team, and why pushing your chair back and walking away from your desk might be the most productive move you make all day.