Richard E. Climan

Climan is renowned for his decades of mergers and acquisitions work for multinational companies, including Walmart Inc., Marvell Technology Group, and Synopsys Inc.

He helped lead his firm's representation of Intel Corp. in its acquisition of Israel-based public transit app Moovit for $900 million.

His accumulated knowledge of the M&A marketplace -- particularly from his vantage in Silicon Valley and as head of Hogan Lovells' global technology M&A practice -- has made him a sought-after speaker and teacher for new and seasoned legal professionals worldwide. Coronavirus-related restrictions on travel and gatherings mean he's shifted from in-person speaking engagements in far-flung locales to video-casting from his living room.

"That transformation has taken a lot of getting used to. It's forced me to innovate," Climan said. "It's incredibly rewarding for me to help train and develop the next generation of legal dealmakers."

Climan and his team held the first-ever virtual version of Hogan Lovells' M&A boot camp this summer, a multi-week introductory program for junior lawyers, bankers, and corporate development professionals. With live webcasts and prerecorded modules, the boot camp was joined online by 670 people including more than 350 law school students from 40 different U.S. law schools.

"It filled an educational void for many of these law school students who were deprived of the summer experience of live clerkships," he said.

Climan said the virtual boot camp exceeded their expectations, especially as it extended the program's reach. The online version expanded access to those who couldn't travel or attend during regular office hours, or who were otherwise underrepresented in the M&A field, he said.

The boot camp also exposed a new class of students to Climan's educational M&A negotiating cartoons. The animated videos show Climan and his longtime colleague Keith Flaum in mock negotiations. The cartoon series is designed to convey core M&A concepts to law students and junior lawyers, particularly for those who are visual learners.

"They present negotiations as being the fun, cerebral exercises that they are," Climan said. "It's a real battle of wits."

-- Jennifer McEntee