Abhiraj Giritharan, summer associate at Michelman & Robinson, contributed to this report.
An increasingly complex mergers and acquisitions landscape means in-house legal teams at startups are having a defining moment, no longer relegated to the periphery of the deal process. But this change also requires them to keep a keen eye on risk allocation, says Ling Kong of Michelman & Robinson.
Startups must adapt to a more disciplined and capital-efficient market, and M&A has emerged as a strategic lever for expanding talent, capabilities and market presence. Founders and legal teams are navigating increasingly complex deal and consideration structures as a product of increased risk aversion.
In this ecosystem, legal counsel serves not merely as dealmakers but as strategic partners. Executing successful M&A transactions requires business acumen and strategic vision as much as precise legal drafting.
A strategic recalibration for startups
The startup economy of 2025 is vastly different from the high-growth, high-valuation environment of just a few years ago. In 2021, global venture funding hit a record $643 billion, but by 2024, it had dropped by more than 50%. Tighter capital markets, market-corrected valuations and investor focus on sustainable, cash-efficient business models with low burn rates has…
