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- I asked a lawyer: What are the worst mistakes owners make when selling their firm?
I asked a lawyer: What are the worst mistakes owners make when selling their firm?
From vague valuation methods to restrictive covenants you didn't read closely enough, a bad deal is the result of many small slips rather than catastrophic errors. Here are 8 (easy) mistakes sellers can make - and how to avoid them yourself.
Alastair Barlow
May 23, 2026
Selling a business is one of those things you don’t know how to do until you do it. Obviously, a lot of it happens behind closed doors. But even the podcasts and books meant to help us understand the process can come across like victory laps. They celebrate the big wins and shy away from sharing too much about what could have gone better.
This article is different. I want to share with you 8 mistakes that firm owners often make when selling, with added context from Michael Currie of Aberdein Considine. Michael was our M&A lawyer during the Ascendant acquisition. He’s a specialist advisor for financial firms, both on the sell and buy-side.
The insights we’ll share below usually come with an hourly fee attached. That said, they’re not a replacement for engaging a lawyer of your own!
If you ask me, choosing the right lawyer is one of the most critical decisions you’ll make during the selling journey, so pick wisely! I would recommend Michael to anyone, so let me know if you want an intro!
Let’s get into what can go wrong during a transaction and how to mitigate the risk.