Russ: This is the PKF Texas Entrepreneur’s Playbook. I’m Russ Capper, this week’s guest host, and I’m here with Don Looper, Attorney with Looper Goodwine P.C., and contributor to the “Profit and Peril” report. Welcome to the Playbook, Don.

Don: Thank you very much.

Russ: You bet. So, you’re contribution to the report is titled, “Foreign Transactions Require an Investment of Professional and Emotional Capital.” That emotional capital part, that’s pretty interesting. Tell us about that.

Don: My practice is an M&A practice. We represent clients acquiring companies, and when US companies go overseas, one of the biggest mistakes they make is believe that they can plop down the price, get the company, and it succeed. Lawyers very seldom understand that they need to invest themselves professionally into the local environment, the community, the employees, and the success of that acquisition depends upon how successful the legal team is in helping the company get to know the environment, the surroundings, and the people; the vendors, to make the acquisition successful.

Russ: Sounds like the legal team might spend weeks, maybe months, there?

Don: On a good acquisition, you would spend many weeks there, yeah. And it may be over nine months, but they would spend quite a bit of time there.

Russ: Really interesting. Thank you for sharing that with us.

Don: You’re welcome.

Russ: For other international topics visit pkftexas.com/internationaldesk. This has been another Thought Leader Production brought to you by PKF Texas Entrepreneur’s Playbook.