Comcast-NBCU deal a bright idea for lawyers

By Eriq Gardner

Q: How many lawyers does it take to screw out a GE lightbulb?

A: 79 lawyers—and that's not counting some new names who will now help Comcast from getting screwed by the nation's antitrust luminaries.

No joke, it took the involvement of 79 attorneys to wrangle NBC Universal from General Electric's hands. The WSJ has the full rundown on the list of lawyers who worked on the deal, including legal assistants and lawyers who haven't yet even been admitted to the bar. 

Jack Donaghy from "30 Rock" wasn't included in the lawyering, but David Caplan of Davis Polk & Wardwell was certainly at the negotiating table. Caplan gets profiled as AmLaw Daily's "Dealmaker of the Week" for helping ink the complex transaction for longtime firm client Comcast.

Let's hope that all of the lawyers and investment bankers who participated in dealmaking put compensation and bonuses for their work in writing. The New York Court of Appeals recently ruled that the broker who helped facilitate Edgar Bronfman Jr. $2.6 billion purchase of Warner Music wasn't entitled to a reward because he never got a written agreement.

On a brighter note (sorry, last GE reference), some say the Comcast deal should spur more M&A activity.