ABL Takeovers Comp: A testing ground for future commercial lawyers
Every year, Monash Law partners with Arnold Bloch Leibler (ABL) for the annual ABL Takeovers Competition. The competition exposes competitors to the area of takeovers law and mergers and acquisitions by simulating the process of a takeover between fictitious ASX listed companies. It affords students with an opportunity to gain insight into what Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and takeovers advisory looks like in practice.
From unfamiliar law to practical advice
by Udit Dhami
The first stage required competitors to step into the shoes of junior lawyers at ABL and prepare an email to a supervising partner, advising Latch (ASX:LTC), a fictional client on an attempted board spill launched by RunClubCo (ASX:RUN).
The email task tested competitors’ abilities to assess the risks and benefits of options available to LTC and phrase this in a ‘client-friendly’ way.
Successful teams progressed to stage 1b which involved a video interview. This stage was designed to simulate the point in a matter where a partner asks follow-up questions on the strategy and risks discussed in the email drafted for stage 1a.
Both these stages posed a significant challenge in dealing with complex commercial concepts and legislation which many students had no prior exposure to, whilst getting across a comprehensive fact scenario.
Building confidence under pressure
by Sen Jayaweera
The second stage also involved two parts - stage 2a involved a written submission to the mock Takeovers Panel. With an updated fact scenario, we had to fill out a pro-forma application on behalf of our fictitious client, arguing for a declaration of unacceptable circumstances in the simulated dispute.
This stage involved translating our legal analysis into formal written advocacy — structured, precise, and targeted at persuading the Panel that the conduct between the relevant parties constituted a breach of the takeovers regime.
Stage 2b then involved a Zoom call with a partner to discuss our application in more detail, simulating the kind of quick debrief you might have in practice before lodging. We had to be ready to defend our reasoning, address weaknesses in the application, and think on our feet about strategy and procedure.
We were then fortunate enough to make it to the final stage. Having about two weeks to prepare, we went even further in-depth on the law surrounding takeovers, using the feedback from the partner call to reinforce our arguments.
We knew the final stage in particular would test the commerciality of our respective approaches, so we had to clearly establish what concessions we were willing to make if it came to it. More broadly, preparing for the Grand Final was a valuable exercise in learning to approach legal advice through a commercial lens - recognising that what is technically correct is not always what is best for the client, and that winning the legal argument and winning for the client are not always the same thing.
A demanding final before industry experts
by Chloe Tremewen
The presentation stage of the ABL Takeovers Competition, held at the firm’s Melbourne office, was a definitive highlight of the experience. Appearing before a mock Takeovers Panel composed of M&A specialists from ABL, both teams had to condense our technical written arguments into a high-impact oral presentation in front of our peers.
True to their pre-presentation warning, the panel did not hold back. They rigorously scrutinised our arguments, challenging us with sharp questioning that occasionally stumped us and demanded strategic under-pressure thinking.
Defending our submissions under intense panel scrutiny was a novel experience for us, and offered a firsthand glimpse into the fast-paced nature of commercial practice.
Ultimately, the competition concluded in an extraordinary and unprecedented manner.
Both finalist teams delivered such compelling presentations that the panel found it impossible to separate them. In a historic first for the competition, the panel chose to honour the exceptional standard of performance by naming both teams joint winners!
The evening concluded with a valuable networking session, allowing us to connect with ABL professionals and celebrate alongside our fellow competitors.
Learning that extends beyond the competition
by Dhiviksha Pillai
Reflecting on the past few months, what strikes us most is how much we didn’t know when we started, and how quickly that changed. Neither Chloe nor I came into the competition with a background in takeovers law.
The early stages involved absorbing entirely unfamiliar concepts while simultaneously learning to communicate them the way a commercial lawyer would: concisely, strategically, and always with the client’s actual objective in mind. It was a steep learning curve, but an incredibly enjoyable one.
Nothing quite prepares you for what it feels like to stand before a panel of senior M&A practitioners and defend your legal submissions in real time. The Panel did not hold back! Their questioning was pointed, relentless at times, and occasionally caught us off guard in ways that demanded genuine thinking on our feet rather than rehearsed answers.
There were moments where Chloe and I had to adapt our arguments mid-submission, concede ground, and find our footing again under pressure. One of the most valuable pieces of feedback we received afterwards was actually quite simple: when the evidence does not fully support your position, defer rather than defend. Doubling down on a weak argument in front of decision-makers does more damage than a measured acknowledgment of its limits.
Knowing when to hold your ground versus when to yield is a skill that takes experience to develop. It was a lesson that resonated, and one we know will be useful well beyond the context of a takeover proceeding.
What the competition ultimately taught us is that the strongest legal arguments are not always the most technically intricate; they are the ones that remain anchored to the client’s commercial interests. Balancing legal precision and practical judgment is a key skill of a commercial lawyer. It is one thing to read about M&A practice in a textbook. It is another thing entirely to live it, even in simulation.
The evening did not end with the outcome. After the presentations, all of the competition’s participants, from every stage, were invited to join the ABL Commercial team for a networking session at the firm’s Melbourne office. It was a warm conclusion to what had been an intense few months.
Speaking with ABL lawyers about their own paths into commercial practice, and connecting with fellow competitors who had been through the same experience, reminded us that these competitions matter beyond the prize. The relationships and conversations that come from putting yourself in these rooms are, in many ways, the most lasting part of the experience.
We leave the competition with a deeper appreciation for the craft of commercial law, enormous gratitude to the ABL Commercial team for crafting such a challenging problem, and excitement about where our interest in this area might take us.
For any penultimate-year students weighing up whether to apply next year, our advice is straightforward: put your name forward! The competition will meet you wherever you are, push you further than you expect, and leave you with something that extends well beyond the result.