Only 28% of law firms – and only 27% of solo & small firm lawyers – have a formal exit strategy. 75% of firm owners regret selling within 1 year due to poor succession planning. And 70% of lawyers who retire without a plan say they wish they would have started preparing 5-10 years earlier.
Whether retirement is 15 years away or imminent, too many lawyers lack a formal succession plan — leading to undervalued sales, client disruption and professional regret. Attorney Alex Gertsburg will explore practical strategies to exit on favorable terms while protecting your clients, legacy and financial well-being. Alex will mainly cover: Building a Succession Plan, Why Exit Planning & Pre-Succession Planning Matters, Deal Logistics, Valuation & Financial Considerations, How to Create a Recurring Revenue Stream for Life and Ethical Requirements. Additional topics: pre-succession planning, the succession plan checklist, types of transitions, 5 reasons transitions fail, pre-sale best practices, how to value your practice, and value & leverage drivers. The program emphasizes the “Merge, Monetize, and Multiply” framework, which helps lawyers create sustainable post-retirement revenue streams, maintain client relationships and utilizing of-counsel agreements.
Learning Objectives:
• Evaluate transition options — sale, internal transfer, wind-down, or merger — and determine which approach best fits their financial and personal goals
• Apply valuation methodologies (multiples of earnings, gross revenue, EBITDA) to assess the fair market value of a law practice
• Recognize common pitfalls in practice transitions and adopt proactive strategies to mitigate risk, client attrition, and deal breakdowns
• Navigate ethical rules (ABA Model Rule 1.17 and Rule 1.5(e)) governing the sale of a practice, confidentiality obligations, and fee-sharing
• Leverage professional advisors (intermediaries, M&A counsel, tax and estate planners) to ensure smooth transactions and maximize firm value
Mr. Gertsburg has been a practicing attorney for over twenty years. His early career was spent with two large regional business law firms, where he represented private and publicly- traded companies and non-profit organizations of all sizes, as well as their owners.