Ask an investment banker lately about the deals they are working on and the refrain is always the same -- there are lots files on the go but not many are likely to actually happen in current markets.
Executives are interested in making deals, right up until the moment when it comes time to make it happen.Then the nerves and the volatility of markets get in the way, and the transaction goes on hold.
The song is the same in the legal community, reports Globe and Mail law reporter Jeff Gray in his most recent column.
The biggest law firms in the country also saw business fall off dramatically in the latter half of 2011, but it's picking up again, though there's nagging doubt about whether the deals that people are meeting about will actually happen.
If there's an upside to being a lawyer over a banker in a market like this, it's that the lawyers bill by the hour so they get paid whether or not a deal succeeds. The bankers only get a big cheque if the transaction closes.