Joseph M. Yaffe

As he worked with senior executives on employment matters early in his career, Yaffe realized how much he enjoyed dealing with the people involved.

"It was a great opportunity to meet super interesting people," Yaffe said. "They were successful and accomplished and had specific goals in mind. So putting together agreements that accomplished what their goals were and satisfied the company's desires to encourage and reward strong performance, it felt gratifying."

Yaffe parlayed that into a career at Skadden, where he heads the West Coast executive compensation and benefits group. Yaffe helps executives finalize their compensation during mergers or transactions, whether it's a founder selling his startup or C-suite officer leaving a company post-merger.

For Yaffe, the job offers unique challenges he enjoys. "What I tell the associates ... in my group is that it's about finding the perfect balance between competing interests," he said.

The executive clients want to help the company secure the deal. On the other hand, it's a seminal moment in their careers and they want to get paid.

"You try to balance their natural instincts of being good soldiers and getting a good deal done for shareholders against the need to make sure that they're not taking a left turn or a sudden stop in their career, both from a compensation perspective and a career progression perspective," Yaffe said.

Yaffe recently represented Andy Katz-Mayfield and Jeff Raider, former co-CEOs of razor subscription service Harry's during its $1.37 billion acquisition by Edgewell Personal Care Company, which owns the Schick and Wet Ones brands.

With the move, Katz-Mayfield and Raider will join Edgewell as co-presidents of the company's U.S. operations, while shareholders will receive an 11 percent stake in the combined company.

"Those guys are deeply committed to what they built at Harry's," Yaffe said. "They want to take it to the next level. They see a great opportunity for their shareholders and a great opportunity to build with Edgewell. At the same time, this is their baby. They wanted to be treated fairly in connection with the transaction and have the right arrangement."

Yaffe said it was fun watching two young entrepreneurs who launched a company less than a decade ago see their hard work pay off.

"It was a win-win," Yaffe said. "Edgewell got a tremendous brand that will help them and Harry's got the right result for the people, the early investors who stayed and helped build the company into what Edgewell ultimately acquired."

-- Glenn Jeffers