Parties often use letters of intent at the start of a merger and acquisition (M&A) deal to outline material terms and establish negotiation parameters. Letters of intent can reduce the time and expense of finalizing a transaction but often have unintended consequences. A major risk of entering a letter of intent is that the document will later be declared binding, even though the parties intended it to be preliminary and non-binding, thus resulting in unsatisfactory or incomplete deal terms. Letters of intent need to be carefully crafted to ensure that the parties’ intent is truly documented and a map to the final deal is determined. The panel of internal and outside M&A attorneys will (1) review the latest legal developments regarding letters of intent, (2) provide best practices for parties negotiating preliminary terms, and (3) discuss proven ways to engage management and internal development teams to maximize the benefit of such letters.