CGL Legal Readiness Screen

Help your clients find legal friction before the buyer does.

The CGL Legal Readiness Screen is a practical advisor tool for spotting legal readiness gaps before they slow diligence, create buyer leverage, or put pressure on valuation.

Designed for M&A advisors and deal professionals, the screen helps you ask sharper readiness questions, identify potential friction earlier, and know when to bring in senior legal support before diligence becomes reactive.

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Access the Legal Readiness Screen

Use the screen in early client conversations, mandate discussions, pre-market planning, or before diligence begins. Submit the form to receive instant access.

Who You’re Talking To

Two founding partners. One focused conversation.

When you book a consult, you’re speaking directly with CGL’s founding leadership — not an intake coordinator.

Hannah Genton

Hannah Genton

Founding and Managing Partner

A founding and managing partner of CGL, Hannah co-founded the firm. She began her career at Cooley LLP advising technology and life sciences companies, and now leads a team with $5B+ in collective deal experience. Her practice focuses on M&A, venture financings, and commercial contracting for founders, executives, and investors navigating complex transactions.

Noam Cohen

Noam Cohen

Founding and Managing Partner

A founding and managing partner of CGL, Noam began her career at Goodwin, where she advised technology companies and VC firms on M&A, venture financings, and IPOs. She leads CGL’s deal practice and brings deep experience in the legal dynamics that shape transaction outcomes — from early readiness conversations to close.

Over a decade of combined deal experience  ·  $5B+ in closed transactions  ·  Senior attorneys from Am Law 100 firms

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Why It Matters

A practical tool for better readiness conversations.

Strong deal processes do not wait for the buyer to find the problems. The Legal Readiness Screen helps advisors identify areas where a client may need focused legal support before diligence becomes reactive.

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Ask better early readiness questions

Structure conversations around the areas most likely to surface legal friction before a buyer identifies them first.

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Spot uncertainty before it becomes buyer leverage

Identify unresolved legal issues while there is still time to address them on the seller’s terms.

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Protect deal momentum

Frame legal cleanup as process discipline — not alarm — so clients stay confident and focused on closing.

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Know when to bring in senior legal support

Understand what answers may signal legal readiness risk and when it is time to involve experienced M&A counsel.

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Frame the next step without alarming the client

Move from issue identification to practical next steps in a way that keeps the client relationship intact.

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Strengthen your advisory value

Demonstrate proactive, deal-aware counsel that builds trust and differentiates your process from the outset.

How It Works

How advisors can use the screen with CGL.

The screen is designed to help advisors move from early issue spotting to practical next steps.

1

Use the screen

Identify possible legal readiness gaps with a client using the structured issue-spotting framework.

2

Book a consult

If two or more areas are unclear, book a complimentary 30-minute Legal Readiness Consult with CGL.

3

Advisor-only conversation

Discuss the situation, pressure test what may matter, and determine whether legal support would protect the process.

4

Decide on next steps

Determine if and how to bring CGL into a client-facing conversation — without overcomplicating the relationship.

The Risk of Waiting

Small gaps can create real deal friction.

Many legal readiness issues are manageable when identified early. But once a buyer is deep in diligence, unresolved issues can create pressure at the worst possible time.

The screen gives advisors a practical way to identify potential issues earlier without trying to play the role of legal counsel.

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Legal readiness gaps may affect:

  • Diligence speed
  • Buyer confidence
  • Valuation pressure
  • Deal terms
  • Closing conditions
  • Management focus
  • Client trust in the process

Who This Is For

Built for advisors and deal professionals.

This screen is designed for deal professionals who guide business owner clients through transaction processes and want to add structured legal readiness to their process.

  • M&A Advisors
  • Investment Bankers
  • Business Brokers
  • Exit Planners
  • Fractional CFOs
  • Strategic Advisors
  • Deal Professionals Supporting Business Owner Clients

What You Receive

Part 1: The Legal Readiness Screen

A concise issue-spotting framework covering seven common legal readiness areas that can affect diligence, buyer leverage, valuation, or deal momentum.

Part 2: Advisor Use Guide

Practical guidance on how to use the screen in client conversations — including what to ask, what red-flag answers may sound like, when to bring in CGL, and how to position the next step without alarming the client.

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Our Role

Senior legal support for advisor-led transactions.

CGL helps advisors and their clients identify legal pressure points before those issues slow diligence, weaken leverage, or distract from the transaction. Depending on the client’s needs, CGL can support:

Focused advisor readiness calls
Advisor-only consults before client conversations
Joint advisor and client readiness conversations
Targeted legal cleanup before market
LOI or term sheet stage strategy
Active deal execution support
Broader M&A legal leadership as the transaction progresses

The goal is simple: help the client enter the transaction process with more confidence, fewer avoidable surprises, and a cleaner path from readiness to close.

We had a complex acquisition and recommended our client engage CGL as transaction counsel. They did a fantastic job, seeing around upcoming corners, and when needed finding solutions to tricky problems. Everything is easier when you’ve got great counsel! Happy client, happy advisor!

Ezra Roizen  ·  Advsr LLC

Access the Legal Readiness Screen

Use the screen to identify potential legal readiness gaps with your clients — then book a complimentary 30-minute Legal Readiness Consult with CGL to discuss what you found.

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