Sebastian Fain, a New York-based mergers and acquisitions partner with global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, said before the pandemic he would strategically choose to conduct certain negotiations virtually to avoid the “bombast” and “grandstanding” postured by certain people involved in a transaction.

“We would have conversations with the advisory team and the client about ‘Does it make sense to get everyone in the same room?’ Because you could have someone who is stronger on the bombast than is necessary,” Fain said. “That doesn’t necessarily facilitate getting deals done.”