Last September, Kim Taylor was feeling a bit nervous. The Kirkland & Ellis M&A partner was walking into the first face-to-face negotiation between her client, private equity firm Apax Partners LLP, and Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. over the sale of Apax’s Qualitest Pharmaceuticals. Taylor was not a rookie: She had represented clients in more than $3 billion of M&A and private equity deals in the prior two years alone. But this deal was particularly important. Apax was a major client, and Taylor had represented the private equity shop on its original acquisition of Qualitest three years before, making her feel even more invested in a successful outcome.

Then there was her opposition: Eileen Nugent, a prominent M&A partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and cohead of the firm’s private equity group, was representing Endo. Nugent’s stellar reputation and 13-year history with the drugmaker was a bit intimidating, and Taylor wanted to "show well," she says. There was also Nugent’s gender. The prospect of negotiating against another woman as lead counsel, a relatively uncommon event, added an element of self-consciousness to an already high-stakes situation. "There’s a little bit of additional pressure, especially because with women, there can be a more narrow margin of what is effective negotiating and what people characterize as nasty," Taylor says.

This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.

To view this content, please continue to their sites.

Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Why am I seeing this?

LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.

For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]