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Robert S. Bick
In nearly 40 years as an attorney, Robert S. Bick has seen just about everything there is to see in mergers and acquisitions practice. As co-chair of the corporate practice group at Williams, Williams, Rattner & Plunkett, he provides counsel for clients of all sizes and industries, private and public companies, private equity and venture capital groups and entrepreneurs. He has closed more than $3 billion in M&A transactions, including serving as co-counsel for the former owners of the Detroit Pistons in connection with the team’s 2011 sale.
Bick also keeps a busy civic and professional schedule. He’s a member of the Detroit chapter of Association for Corporate Growth and the American Jewish Committee, served for years as a mentor to at-risk children at Haven of Oakland County and acts as general counsel and secretary for the McDonald Agape Foundation.
He recently spoke with Lawyers Weekly about a range of topics, including his outlook for M&A in 2026, his advice for young attorneys, and his start practicing M&A law.
Q: How did you become an M&A attorney?
A: I was a young attorney working on a transaction with [firm co-founder] Rick Willliams. I was on the other side, and Rick said, “Would you like to come and work on with me?”
The industry wasn’t [in place] that there is today. There are so many segments to putting together an M&A deal that weren’t … there in abundance at the time. We were doing things way back then that today would go to CPA firms or diligence firms.
We had a reputation because we were doing lots of deals. We’re not a huge firm … but we’ve done hundreds of lower middle market private equity deals and due to relationships people came to us.
Q: What’s your outlook for the M&A landscape in 2026?
A: There are cycles in M&A. … In 2022-2024, things started to decline [due to] rising inflation [and] interest rates. [But] the last half of 2025 was very active. Prices have stabilized, so more sellers are coming to the market. There’s an abundance of capital — inflation has in the last year come down a little bit — so there’s rising optimism in 2026. Everybody I’ve talked to [is] predicting that 2026, barring some bump in the road, is going to be a pretty active year, a continuation of the second half of 2025.
Some mega deals from the end of 2025 will carry over into 2026. We don’t do mega deals — we’re a small firm and we mostly do lower middle market deals — but even in my world there’s a lot of activity.
Q: Any advice for young M&A attorneys?
A: I’ve been asked to talk to young attorneys in the past and I still mentor through Haven of Oakland County. [My advice is to] get involved, both in bar organizations and organizations that are related to your field. Learn as much as you can and don’t assume you know everything. Network all you can because all of those things will help you build a practice.
Q: What’s something about you that people don’t know?
A: For the entire summer before I started college, I was a volunteer with the National Park Service’s Student Conservation Association program at Yosemite National Park. I worked with the trail crew in a remote section of Yosemite National Park and helped to build a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail. No matter how hard we worked, the view every day was breathtaking!
