David Seifer Sees Opportunities Rising For Corporate Law Work

"With the heavy push to get Mergers and Acquisitions deals across all industries done before calendar year-end, I would expect that we're going to see some of these deals spill over into the first quarter," partner David Seifer said.  

What You Need to Know

• Seifer is expecting to continue to see regular activity, because there seems to be a lot of capital flowing to buy and invest in businesses.
• Seifer said good opportunities are arising for corporate law work.
• Corporate and real estate lawyers in South Florida, and around the state, are certainly poised to help those businesses move down here - from finding a location, and helping with documentation for leasing.

Bilzin Sumberg Partner David Seifer brings more than two decades of experience when handling corporate matters including securities offerings, corporate governance, securities reporting and compliance, mergers and acquisitions, blockchain and distributed ledger-related legal issues, equity and debt fundraising and financing, and acquisitions and exit strategies.

According to Seifer’s website, he has represented companies in capital raising transactions valued up to $250 million, and in mergers, acquisitions and dispositions with transaction values up to $440 million.

In this conversation with the Daily Business Review, Seifer discusses what he thinks is a good opportunity for corporate sectors, what trends he anticipates for the upcoming year, why companies are rushing to get deals done with the potential taxes and regulations changes in 2022, how corporate attorneys in South Florida and throughout the state will remain busy setting up financing for the companies moving down here and his biggest concern going into the new year.

What do you think is a good opportunity in the corporate sector right now?

Good opportunities are arising for corporate law work because there are many law changes out there that are being proposed, ranging from taxation, and capital raising rules, to discussion regarding regulatory notifications and approval of mergers. There seems to be a lot of spaces where there is talk about additional regulation or enforcement in those types of areas. Businesses, with the advice from their counsel, will need to be nimble in terms of learning what the rules are and how they impact the business.

What trends do you anticipate for the upcoming year?

With the heavy push to get mergers and acquisitions deals across all industries done before calendar year-end, I would expect that we’re going to see some of these deals spill over into the first quarter. We’re going to see a lot of backlog. I’m also expecting to continue to see regular activity, because there seems to be a lot of capital flowing to buy and invest in businesses. There is a lot of appetite for corporate and business growth.

In addition, I assume as the FDA starts to get back into the business of approving things which aren’t COVID-19 related, then we’ll also see a lot of commercialization transactions in the life sciences space for products that are in businesses’ product pipelines. As a result, that will then begin the same cycle of things, capital raising and commercialization of
products.

Why are companies rushing to get deals done with the potential taxes and regulations changes in 2022?

What might get approved by Congress and the president is changing daily, so everyone from accountants, and lawyers, to business people are conscientiously looking at it every day to see what might get approved. But it seems that there are changes that would close certain perceived loopholes in tax laws as well as changes in tax rates for different types of income.

How will corporate attorneys in South Florida and throughout the state remain busy setting up financing for the companies moving down here?

Naturally, anytime businesses come down here, they have to find a location to open up an office, hire new people, and commercialize their products and services, and all of those things require businesses to spend money. To the extent they don’t have cash on hand or don’t already have bank loans set up for that, there is a need to go back out and to raise additional capital. Whether the businesses are capital raising, taking loans from banks, or spending cash they already have, corporate and real estate lawyers in South Florida, and around the state, are certainly poised to help those businesses move down here – from finding a location, and helping with documentation for leasing and buying, to hiring new employees, and everything else that’s needed to build and commercialize a business and its products and services.

 What’s your biggest concern going into 2022?

As new COVID-19 variants continue to arise around the world, coupled with the situation in the United States regarding inflationary pressure and monetary policy, those things combined could be worrisome, because they can potentially lead to a situation that could point to a downward trend in the economy.

Does this keep you up at night?

No, one thing that we’ve learned over the years is that the economic health and well- being of the country and around the world seems to be cyclical. Unfortunately, things are hard because of the pandemic, but economic cycles are the type of thing that people have had to weather over the years.

Are there any new strategies or game plans your firm will pursue in 2022?

Our firm continues to look for opportunities to showcase our expertise. We continue to be nimble and aggressive with respect to hiring skilled professionals to do the legal work and represent clients, as well as utilizing technology to make things more efficient and overall better.