Cushman & Wakefield – Nelson Mullins RFP Response

BUSINESS STRATEGY /CONSULTATION

1. Please provide a list of additional consultative services your firm provides that might be of assistance to NMRS and the fee structure associated with each. In addition to C&W’s customized Vision Session and law firm benchmarking (both at no cost to the Firm) below are some other consultative services that may be relevant and beneficial to NMRS: • Law Firm Merger & Acquisition Real Estate Management • Experience Per SF™ • Financial Analysis LAW FIRM MERGER & ACQUISITION REAL ESTATE MANAGEMENT EXPERTISE Provided at no cost to the firm 2018 was a peak year for law firm mergers with 106 total mergers, 14 of which were cross-border, according to Altman Weil MergerLine. In the event that NMRS is considering an additional potential merger or acquisition with a firm, the Core Team is seasoned at performing preliminary due diligence of the candidate’s real estate liability so the Firm clearly understands the lease liability, value/risk, and the pros and cons of the merger candidates’ real estate obligations. The Core Team will evaluate the candidate’s current situation, including per-attorney occupancy analysis, vacancy impact, long-term viability, building systems evaluation, potential out-of-pocket capital requirements, a complete evaluation of the current lease and obligations, and lease rights, as well as all positive attributes and deficiencies of the space, the building, and the location. The entire situation analysis phase will be completed prior to NMRS formally engaging in an agreement to merge or acquire the candidate. C&W has the ability to evaluate a merger candidate’s leases that includes liability, disposition strategies,

and risk assessments. These tools coupled with our highly skilled in-house counsel, global LSAG membership base, and lease management platform allow us to complete a full evaluation for a merger candidate within 48 hours, which C&W has done for another Am Law 100 firm client. Members of the Core Team recently worked with a law firm client who had experienced significant growth through a merger that added six additional offices and two additional one-off mergers in just two years. When considering merger candidates, C&W first evaluated all of the candidate’s real estate and completed a full analysis of the liability, risk, and potential disposition of excess space (both in locations where two offices would exist, but also where the offices had high vacancy rates). This information added tremendous value to this firm in negotiating the merger terms and also implementing a strategy following the merger to improve the efficiencies of the entire portfolio to reduce overall occupancy costs. C&W’s M&A real estate service capabilities can also work in reverse of the above example. We have also worked with a firm that desired to merge with a larger firm. Before pursuing, we evaluated the portfolio and developed a strategy for the firm to improve its real estate liability. In this firm’s case, they had high vacancy rates and per attorney square footage ratios and in their largest office in NYC, a difficult lease that had over ten years remaining on the term. Through effective and creative analysis, we were able to negotiate lease termination rights that did not exist in the current leases that enabled this firm to reduce its real estate obligation by over $75 million dollars, and provide clearly defined costs to terminate which placed the firm in an improved position to go to market themselves as a potential candidate to merge into a larger firm. After a year of evaluation and negotiations, this firm concluded a merger with an Am Law 100 firm and exercised the termination rights that we negotiated on the firm’s behalf.

Legal Sector Advisory Group | ADVISING FOR EXCELLENCE 37