The hardest part about being a senior-level lawyer (especially at a public company) is that sometimes I am expending all of my time and sanity on something and I can’t talk about it. Sometimes it involves doing weird things like flying to Tulsa, Oklahoma on short notice to look through a box of paper documents, and I just have to say that I’m “traveling on business” without further explanation.

But now I can finally talk about it! This is a bit delayed because we signed the deal and then I immediately got COVID. But I spent the past 3 months leading this deal, in which we have signed an agreement to buy one of our bank partners for $590M in cash. It’s a huge professional accomplishment for me, and the first merger of this size that I’ve negotiated since Checkr’s acquisition of Inflection 4 years ago.

It was stressful, but challenging, and I learned a lot. Now we move to the phase of applying for regulatory approval from the OCC and Federal Reserve, which I will be participating in but not leading. It’s nice to get back to doing my actual job and having my weekends free.

Anyway, if you are one of the people who have wondered where I disappeared to for the last 3 months, now you know.