Buying or selling a law firm may be a once-in-a-career transaction, yet many attorneys enter the process without experience navigating the business, financial, and professional considerations involved. Before You Sign: Buying or Selling a Law Firm Without Getting Burned examines the critical issues attorneys should evaluate before committing to the purchase, sale, or transition of a law practice.
In this CLE program, Doug Brown begins by helping attorneys identify their true objectives before focusing on price or deal terms. Participants will examine how fear, ego, attachment, relief and other emotional factors can influence negotiations and lead otherwise experienced attorneys away from their underlying goals. The course also explores what buyers are actually evaluating during due diligence, including revenue predictability, client transferability, owner independence, personnel, systems, goodwill, and referral relationships.
At the end of the CLE, attorneys will be able to:
* Identify the primary objectives that should guide the purchase or sale of a law practice
* Recognize how emotional factors can influence negotiation strategy and decision-making
* Evaluate key due-diligence considerations, including revenue, goodwill, client transferability, personnel and firm systems
* Distinguish between transferable firm value and goodwill that remains personal to the departing attorney
* Identify professional-responsibility considerations involving client choice, confidentiality, conflicts, and continuity of representation
* Recognize post-closing transition and integration issues that can determine whether a law firm transaction ultimately succeeds
Attendees will consider the distinction between firm goodwill and goodwill that remains personal to a departing lawyer, as well as why a seemingly successful transaction can lose value when clients, employees, or referral sources fail to transition. Finally, the program addresses important professional-responsibility and transition considerations surrounding law firm transactions, including client choice, confidentiality, conflicts, and continuity of representation.
Participants will learn why successful transactions require careful planning beyond the purchase price — and why the work necessary to preserve value continues long after the agreement is signed. Doug Brown, J.D. is a law firm leadership coach, attorney, executive, and consultant who helps law firm owners and managing partners build sustainable firms, develop future leaders, and successfully navigate succession and ownership transitions.