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During Ep. 41 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show, Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. addresses the following question: Could you please share a few examples of successful law firm sales? Before sharing 2 examples of successful sales, Poock outlines the following 4 winners in a successful law firm sale as the criteria for determining, or really, grading success: 1.  Winner #1: A Senior Attorney seller, or sellers 2. Winner #2: Key Employee Lawyers and Para-Staff 3. Winner #3: The Selling Law Firm’s Clients 4. Winner #4: A purchasing Growing Law Firm As context, Poock also points out that Growing Law Firms typically purchase Senior Attorney-led firms because of their need for new clients and a talented workforce, as compared to key employee lawyers who usually prefer a reliable, predictable, and safe job, as compared to purchasing their boss’ law firm. When providing 2 examples of successful sales, Poock grades one as a “B+” and the other as an “A-.” The reason for the B+ grade, rather than a grade in the “A” range regarding the first example of a successful sale relates to the following 2 aspects in which the parties could have performed better: (a) The purchasing firm could have better integrated the selling law firm’s clients and referral sources into their practice; and (b) Based upon the selling law firm’s 40+ year reputation, the purchasing firm could have benefited more from the potential Digital Marketing value that lawyers from the selling law firm could offer. By example, the purchasing firm could have likely obtained 100s of 5-Star Google Reviews from longtime, satisfied clients of the selling law firm. Poock then grades the second successful law firm sale as an A-, where the only reason for not grading that sale as a straight A related to the purchasing firm not hiring any of the selling lawyer’s staff. In particular, Poock explains the following key to success in that sale: The seller identified a certain lawyer at the purchasing firm to become the point person for her Estate Planning clients. By doing so, she accomplished: (1) Trust Transfer of her clients from herself to the designated attorney at the purchasing firm; (2) Successful earnout payments by transitioning her clients to the purchasing firm; and (3) Peace of mind that her clients would remain in good and capable hands with capable and competent attorneys at the purchasing law firm.

In Episode 76 of the State of the Market for Law Firm Sales in 11 Minutes, Senior Attorney Match’s Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. addresses the following: The significance of reaching “Digital Normal” for Bus. Dev. for lawyers in the late 2020s Poock begins the episode by explaining the following:   During a short period of time since society’s “Digital Pivot” in 2020, consumers of legal services, i.e., clients, have transitioned from asking for lawyer referrals via Word of Mouth to primarily searching online when determining which lawyer or law firm to hire.   Now that law firms have finally caught-up to consumers in the late 2020s, Business Development for lawyers and law firms has reached “Digital Normal” by recognizing the need to attract the attention of potential clients via Multi-Channel Digital Marketing.   From the standpoint of law firm sales, Poock explains that Business Development for lawyers reaching “Digital Normal” impacts the following 2 categories of law firms:   1. Traditional Rainmaker-led Law Firms: As Poock points out, the Age of the Vanishing Rainmaker coincides with reaching Digital Normal for Business Development for lawyers because today’s (and tomorrow’s) clients by-pass the business cards of yester-year’s Rainmaker attorneys by searching online for lawyers and law firms instead.   As Poock states, “We see that traditional Rainmaker law firms are just not generating as much business as they did in yester-year. And, if that's the case for a traditional Rainmaker-led firm, we cannot emphasize more strongly that now is the best time to consider selling or merging your law firm.”   2. Digital Rainmaker Law Firms: Today’s Digital Rainmaker Law Firms have fully embraced Digital Normal for Business Development, including Multi-Channel Digital Marketing that consists of AI, Google, social media, regularly updated websites, asking clients for 5-Star Google Reviews, and more, the benefits of which include:   (a) Developing Digital Value & Brand Equity; and   (b) An ability to track predictable and repetitive business via attributing client originations to particular digital marketing channels.   Those benefits present the following added value when selling a Digital Rainmaker Law Firm:   The introduction of fixed prices, plus earnout terms, where a selling law firm’s Digital Value and Brand Equity support the fixed price component of a sale, particularly when attributing portions of earnings to predictable, digital sources of client originations.

During Ep. 40 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show, Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. addresses the following: We recently purchased a law firm & do not see a rise in expected new revenues yet. Why not? At the outset, Poock states, “[L]et's just take a step back . . . in terms of why is it that a buyer has an expectation that revenues are going to rise in the short-term when welcoming in a Senior Attorney-led firm that a purchasing . . . firm has taken on?” Here, Poock points out the following 4 upgrades that Senior Attorney-led firms present to a purchasing firm: 1. Instant client growth by succeeding to a selling law firm’s Book of Business 2. Hiring talented lawyers and support staff from a selling law firm 3. Expansion of Subject Matter Knowledge depth in multiple practice areas 4. A 3-pronged Digital Value upgrade, consisting of (i) Succeeding to the mature website of a selling law firm; (ii) Access to 100s (sometimes, 1000s) of 5-Star Google Reviews; and (iii) Opportunities to convert subject matter knowledge of the attorneys from a selling law firm into digital content to publish via multiple channels of digital marketing (egs. LinkedIn, FB, and X posts; YouTube videos; podcasts; e-newsletters; and more). When addressing why a purchasing law firm does not immediately benefit from increasing revenues post-purchase, Poock emphasizes the importance of the first 180 days after a closing. During the initial 30 days post-closing, Poock describes the importance of a “Listening Tour,” followed by a period of adapting and adopting best practices between the lawyers and staff of a selling law firm and their counterparts at a purchasing firm. Following the period of adapting and adopting, Poock points out that the parties then become ready to grow together because they lawyers and staff have begun trusting one another. Here, Poock emphasizes the following key to success for the sales of Senior Attorney-led law firms, generally, including how to fulfill a purchasing law firm’s expectation about increasing revenues: Trust Transfer The moment that a Senior Attorney seller informs clients that the Senior Attorney seller trusts attorneys at the purchasing firm, the clients typically continue retaining the purchasing firm, which then results in the increase in revenues that a purchasing law firm expected when acquiring a Senior Attorney-led law firm. Poock then explains that Trust Transfer occurs via the following 3 ways: (a) In-person; (b) Via video conferences (egs. Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, etc.); and (c) Via digital marketing, such as sending e-newsletters to a selling law firm’s Book of Business, which informs those clients about the services that a purchasing law firm provides. Poock concludes by offering the following advice for purchasing firms to consider to facilitate successful Trust Transfer: Consider assigning attorneys from a purchasing law firm to become the transferees of the Trust Transfer (“Trust Transferee Attorneys”), which results in the following 3 wins: (1) Senior Attorney sellers maximize the earnout component of their sales by developing trust with 1 or more Trust Transferee Attorneys to continue representing their clients, where each such representation results in fee sharing per earnout terms. (2) If agreed upon by a purchasing firm, the Trust Transferee Attorney(s) could (should) succeed to origination credits associated with a selling law firm’s Book of Business once an earnout period with a selling attorney(s) lapses, thereby incentivizing Trust Transferee Attorneys to continue practicing at a purchasing law firm without the burden of developing their own Books of Business. Applying a football analogy, Poock explains that Trust Transferee Attorneys have only 1 responsibility with regard to clients derived from a selling law firm’s Book of Business: “[J]ust don’t fumble the ball.” (3) The purchasing firm benefits financially when (i) Senior Attorney sellers have an incentive to generate revenues from their Book of Business during a negotiated earnout period; and (ii) Trust Transferee Attorneys continue generating revenues from a selling attorney’s Book of Business once Trust Transferee Attorneys succeed to origination credits of a selling attorney’s Book of Business once the earnout period with a selling attorney(s) lapses.

During Ep. 40 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show, Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. addresses the following: How do I know when to stop negotiations with a buyer? At the outset, Poock points out that Senior Attorney owners of law firms may consider not even starting negotiations with their key employee lawyer(s) because most key employee lawyers: 1. Only want a job; 2. Went to law school and not business school, i.e., they do not aspire to own a small business law firm; 3. Cannot afford to purchase their boss’ law firm; and 4. Assume that their boss will never retire If a Senior Attorney owner believes that key employee lawyers at their firm actually do have interest to purchase the practice, Poock then asks: (1) When you ask a key employee attorney about their interest to purchase your practice, how did the key employee attorney respond? (2) How often do key employee attorneys at the firm approach the owner with ideas for who to grow the practice? (3) How much business do the key employee attorneys already generate at the firm? If none of those answers point toward key employee lawyers indicating an interest to become internal successors, Poock suggests that law firm owners consider not starting a sale conversation with their key employee lawyers. Regarding Growing Law Firms as the more typical purchasers of law firms, Poock shares the following tips for when to know to stop negotiations. 1. Importance of Establishing a Timeframe: Poock suggests that the seller and purchaser agree to a timeframe for due diligence and preparing a letter of intent or other form of an offer. By setting that timeframe, the parties can determine whether to continue or stop negotiations during their agreed-upon timeframe to reach a letter of intent or offer. If the parties do not pre-establish a timeframe, though, Poock points out the following: If months pass without the parties completing due diligence or agreeing upon terms for a letter of intent, such passage of time typically indicates that a seller should consider stopping negotiations before even more time passes with a buyer who likely does not intend to purchase a seller’s law firm. 2. Protracted Negotiations: Poock explains that when negotiations become protracted, a “pretzel effect” can occur, namely, that when negotiations over certain terms become analogous to pretzel making, the selling law firm may consider stopping negotiations before weeks or months pass by in advance of the proverbial pretzel breaking, i.e., negotiations breaking down, followed by the seller needing to pursue another buyer. As key takeaways about knowing when to stop negotiations with a buyer, Poock summarizes as follows:   (1) Selling law firms should consider whether to even start negotiations with key employee lawyers if those key employees prefer to have a job rather than become owners of a small business law firm.   (2) The importance of defining a timeframe for due diligence and preparing a Letter of Intent as a means for determining whether to stop or continue negotiations with a buyer.   (3) Recognizing that if protracted negotiations become analogous to pretzel making, a seller may opt to stop negotiations before the pretzel breaks and either the seller or buyer then decides to stop negotiations, which could occur weeks or months later.

In Episode 75 of the State of the Market for Law Firm Sales in 11 Minutes, Senior Attorney Match’s Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. addresses the following: The 3 Benefits of M&A for Growing Law Firms Benefit #1: Instant Client Growth When acquiring a law firm, the Growing Law Firm benefits from the instant client growth that a selling law firm’s Book of Business presents in the form of 100s (sometimes, 1000s) of new clients, plus scores of new referral sources. Benefit #2: Combined Workforce Considering clients as the energy source for law firms, Poock analogizes experienced lawyers and support staff as a law firm’s engine. M&A presents an opportunity for Growing Law Firms to immediately add talented, experienced lawyers and non-lawyer staff who (i) Do not need training; (ii) Have years of experience; (iii) Know the clients of a selling law firm; and (iv) Have the skillset to represent and work with clients of a Growing Law Firm.   Benefit #3: Digital Value The Digital Value benefit of M&A involves access to the following 3 Treasure Chests of Digital Value that selling law firms present: (i) Access to 100s of new 5-Star Google Reviews from the satisfied clients of a selling law firm; (ii) Opportunities to convert the Subject Matter Knowledge of the lawyers from a selling law firm into digital content to publish to Multi-Channel Digital marketing to attract the attention of clients who search online today (and tomorrow) for lawyers and law firms to hire; and (iii) A boost to a purchasing law firm’s website good will by adding the bios of lawyers from a selling law firm, as well as succeed to the mature websites of selling law firms, including co-branding with those websites.

During Question 2. of Ep. 39 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show, Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. addresses the following question: When should I let my staff know that I am considering selling my law firm? As Poock points out at the outset, this question raises the following 2 questions: 1. When should a law firm owner let their potential internal successors know that the owner has begun considering to sell the law firm? and 2. How can an owner know whether an internal successor prefers to remain as a key employee lawyer? As Poock explains, rather than aspire to succeeding to owning their boss’ law firm, the vast majority of key employee lawyers want the following: A reliable, predictable, and safe job In terms of when a law firm owner should consider informing key employee lawyers about planning to sell the firm, Poock explains the following: (a) When providing 2-4+ years notice, owners can learn whether key employee lawyers want to purchase their boss’ law firm, or not, if they follow-up by expressing interest in acquiring ownership, as compared to a more typical non-responsiveness, changing the subject, and otherwise not stepping-up to the proverbial plate to succeed to an ownership role. When providing 2-4+ years notice about contemplating selling, Poock also shares the following: Key employee lawyers continue to consider their jobs as reliable, predictable, and safe because they assume that their boss does not plan to sell or retire in the short-term. (b) When law firm owners provide a shorter timeframe for planning to sell their law firm, such as before an upcoming lease termination date, the end of a given calendar year, or when the law firm owner turns a certain age, key employees suddenly no longer feel that their job remains reliable, predictable, and safe. “[A]s a result, those key employee lawyers, they start thinking to themselves, ‘Wow, we think we should go and try to find another job, because we think that our boss really means it.’”   When that happens, Poock explains, key employees can (will) seek to restore their need for a reliable, predictable, and safe job by providing their boss with a 2 or 4 week notice on a Random Tuesday about accepting a new job at another law firm, which impacts the owner and the law firm as follows: 1. Short-term loss of revenues as a result of losing 1 or more key employee lawyers. 2. Long-term loss of value due to key employee lawyers and staff representing a significant component of a law firm’s value because of their revenue generating capabilities, skill sets, and familiarity with a selling law firm’s clients. 3. Prolong the timeframe for a law firm owner to sell a law firm whose value decreases as a result of the departure of 1 more key employee lawyers. In contrast to prematurely informing key employee lawyers and staff about plans to sell a law firm, Poock poses the following: “[W]hat if [a] Senior Attorney seller does not inform the key employee lawyers and staff throughout the process of selling the law firm?” Poock points out that acquiring firms often hire a selling law firm’s entire lawyer and non-lawyer staff to ensure continuity of representing the clients of a selling law firm, together with benefiting from the experience and know-how that a selling law firm’s staff presents to a purchasing law firm. Also, when key employee lawyers and staff learn that a purchasing firm plans to hire them, such news typically results in “a huge sense of relief because they are able to restore what they want and need, which is a reliable, predictable and safe job.”   As Poock concludes, “So, in short, when it comes to whether Senior Attorney sellers should . . . inform their staff about selling the law firm, we really recommend waiting as long as you can so that you can avoid the potential Random Tuesday of a key employee lawyer or staff person leaving before a sale happens.”   And, “[b]ecause the sales often include the key employee lawyers and staff being hired [by a purchasing law firm] . . . that is what your staff wants: they want that reliable, predictable and safe job.”

During Ep. 39 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show, Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. addresses the following 3 important updates to make before selling a law firm: 1. Track Revenues: In addition to organizing a law firm’s annual revenues, Poock suggests tracking revenues within a firm’s top practice areas, including analyzing trends and sources of originations. By example, as law firms continue transitioning to becoming Digital Rainmaker law firms, Poock suggests tracking the percentages of client originations attributable to traditional rainmaker attorneys and those originations attributable to digital marketing efforts. 2. Client List: Based upon a law firm’s Book of Business comprising its most valuable asset, Poock suggests the following about updating the Book of Business (i) Update client contact information, including addresses, e-mail addresses, and phone/mobile phone contact information; (ii) Connecting with clients and referral sources on LinkedIn; and (iii) Request 5-Star reviews from clients.   Regarding requesting 5-Star reviews, Poock points out the following ROI for doing so:   5-Star reviews reflect “the social proof that your clients know, like, and trust lawyers at your firm.”   3. Updating a Law Firm’s Website & LinkedIn Profiles for Lawyers and Non-Lawyers: As Poock points out: “The first place that any potential buyer is going to look when they're considering your law firm is your website.”   Before selling a law firm, Poock suggests that law firm owners update content and pictures throughout their firm websites, together with removing outdated content. Poock also recommends adding 5-Star reviews because potential purchasers want to see what clients of the firm think about their client experience.   In addition, Poock recommends the following:   That all lawyers and support staff of a selling law firm update their LinkedIn profiles, including updating pictures and content, because potential purchasers review LinkedIn profiles of lawyers and support staff as part of their due diligence.

During Ep. 39 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show, Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. addresses the following: Items to Update & Organize before Selling a Law Firm Poock offers 2 categories of items to update and organize before selling a law firm: Category 1: Financial, Employee Info., Digital Updates & Digital Data Examples include. 1. Profit & Loss statements for at least the past 3 calendar years, together with revenues information by practice area. 2. Lawyer & non-lawyer staff information, including responsibilities & compensation, including benefits. 3. Updates to a selling law firm’s client list and referral source list, including phone numbers, cell phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and current physical addresses. 4. Update to the law firm’s website 5. Updates to the LinkedIn profiles for all lawyers at the firm. 6. Digital analytics data for at least the past 3 calendar years, including rankings information and data about digital originations. Category 2: Contracts Not Terminable at Will Poock points out examples of contracts not terminable at will to organize in advance of selling a law firm, including: (i) Office Lease; (ii) CRM Software; (iii) Legal research contract(s); (iv) Digital Marketing; (v) Benefits (including 401(k) plan contract, if applicable); (vi) Malpractice Insurance; and (vii) Copy machine contracts. And, Poock points out the following 3 very important updates before selling a law firm: (a) Update the tracking of revenues for a selling law firm’s top practice areas for at least the past 3 calendar years. (b) Update the firm’s client list, plus connect with clients on LinkedIn and request 5-Star Google reviews from clients. (c) Update the website of a selling law firm, plus update the LinkedIn profiles for all of the lawyers at a selling law firm.

In Episode 74 of the State of the Market for Law Firm Sales in 11 Minutes, Senior Attorney Match’s Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. addresses the following: The 2 Reasons Why Senior Attorney Sellers Want Purchasing Law Firms to Win Reason #1 for why Senior Attorney sellers want purchasing law firms to win:   Financial   Considering that most sales of Senior Attorney-led law firms involve earnout payment terms, selling attorneys want a purchasing firm to win because:   The more clients from a selling law firm’s Book of Business that a purchasing firm represents means the greater amount paid to a selling attorney(s) via earnout terms that typically include negotiated fee sharing terms paid during a negotiated number of years.   Reason #2 for why Senior Attorney sellers want purchasing law firms to win:   Legacy   As Poock explains, Sellers want purchasers to win for the following 3 legacy related reasons:   1. Ensuring that clients of a selling law firm will continue to benefit from ongoing, competent and zealous representation.   2. Making sure that the staff of a selling law firm continue to have ongoing employment with a purchasing law firm.   3. The satisfaction of helping a purchasing firm succeed post-sale in terms of:   (i) Adding new clients;   (ii) Welcoming the talented and experienced lawyer and non-lawyer staff of a selling law firm; and   (iii) Benefiting from the subject matter knowledge that a selling attorney(s) has developed over the course of decades.

During the Poock’s Post segment of Ep. 38 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show, Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. addresses the following: The Importance of Bus. Dev. Attribution to Law Firm Sales Poock begins by distinguishing between: (a) Bus. Dev. attribution for traditional Rainmaker-led law firms; and (b) Bus. Dev. attribution for post-2020 Digital Rainmaker Law Firms. As Poock explains, Bus. Dev. attribution for traditional Rainmaker-led law firms relates primarily to the Book of Business that 1 or more Rainmaker attorneys developed often during the pre-Google Word-of-Mouth era. Those Books of Business present value to a purchasing law firm, albeit limited to a ceiling of business attributable to the Book of Business. By contrast, as law firms continue transitioning to becoming Digital Rainmaker Law Firms based upon investing in Multi-Channel Digital Marketing (egs. Google, AI, social media, optimized websites, and more), those firms now have measurable Digital Value and Brand Equity whose reach for potential new clients/business extends well beyond the limited scope of a traditional Rainmaker attorney’s Book of Business. As Digital Rainmaker Law Firms continue spending more and more on Multi-Channel Digital Marketing, Poock points out the following: The importance of attributing the sources of digital Bus. Dev. because doing so will show how new clients predictably, reliably, and consistently seek legal services from Digital Rainmaker Law Firms. As Poock states, “[A]ll of that data will increase the value of a Digital Rainmaker Law Firm in terms of a [sales] multiple, whether that is of EBITDA, net profits or other multiples that will continue to develop with law firm sales.”

During Ep. 38 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show, Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. addresses the following question: I wish that my Internal Successor showed more interest in Bus. Dev. What can I do to explain the importance of Bus. Dev. to owning a law firm? When addressing this question, Poock begins by asking: What's the issue here?   The underlying issue relates to the following:   Who wants and needs to purchase a law firm and who does not?   Even though most law firm sellers would prefer that their internal successors a/k/a key employee attorneys succeed to owning their law firms, in reality, most key employee lawyers do not want to purchase their boss’ small business law firm, and they cannot afford to either. Instead, most key employee lawyers want a Reliable, Predictable, and Safe job.   Rather than focusing on how to explain the importance of Bus. Dev. to key employee lawyers, Poock advises that law firm sellers instead consider their key employee lawyers as key assets of their firms.   Poock also points out that Growing Law Firms want and need the following 3 resources to boost their growth:   (1) New clients;   (2) Experienced and talented lawyers and non-lawyer staff; and   (3) Digital content to attract the attention of today’s and tomorrow’s clients who continue to search online for lawyers and law firms to hire.   Poock then distinguishes between the following:   (a) The 4 winners that result when Senior Attorney-led firms sell to or merge with a Growing Law Firm, namely: (i) The Senior Attorney seller(s) who monetizes their law firm; (ii) Key employee lawyers and support staff who often join a purchasing law firm and win by maintaining their Reliable, Predictable, and Safe jobs; (iii) Clients of a selling law firm who win because they will continue to benefit from ongoing, competent and zealous reputation; and (iv) Growing Law Firms who benefit from instant client growth, enhancing their workforce; and benefiting from receiving literally treasure chests of digital content to attract the attention for potential clients via Multi-Channel Digital Marketing.   (b) Short-Term & Long-Term Negative Impacts of a Random Tuesday Event: Poock explains that when Senior Attorneys wait too long to recognize that their key employee lawyers do not want to purchase their boss’ law firm, those key employee lawyers could wind-up giving them either 2 or 4 weeks notice on a “Random Tuesday” about leaving to join another firm.   In that event, Senior Attorney owners lose revenues in the short-term due to loss of billings and general productivity by a key employee lawyer who unexpectedly departs their firm.  Long-term, their law firms lose value because many law firm purchasers want and need to hire a selling firm’s key employee lawyers and staff to continue representing the clients of a selling law firm.   In conclusion, Poock points out that even though most law firm sellers prefer that their key employee lawyers become better rainmakers in advance of pursuing an internal succession plan, Growing Law Firms typically present a more viable purchaser for their law firms, including their recognition of the following: That key employee lawyers and support staff comprise a major component of a selling law firm’s value.

During Ep. 38 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show, Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. addresses the following question: What are the Components to Valuing a Law Firm? As Poock explains, “When it comes to valuing a law firm, there are 5 key components to the valuation for what a law firm is worth.” Those 5 components consist of the following: (1) Client List (2) Referral Source List (together with the Client List, the “Book of Business”) (3) Key Employee Lawyers & Support Staff (4) Subject Matter Knowledge (5) Digital Value Poock then poses the following 2 questions: (a) Who wants and needs the 5 Components of Value? and (b) What will they pay for it? Distinguishing between internal successors and Growing Law Firms, Poock points out that Growing Law Firms want and need the 5 Components of Value that a selling law firm offers because the 5 Components of Value compliment the following 3 resources that Growing Law Firms need: (1) More clients (2) Talented lawyers and support staff; and (3) Digital content Regarding how much a Growing Law Firm will pay for the 5 Components of Value, Poock explains the following 2 law firm sale structures: (1) Law Firm Sales 1.0 in which a seller’s value primarily relates to its Book of Business (client list & referral source), where the financial terms typically involve an earnout pegged to collections derived by a purchasing law firm from a selling law firm’s Book of Business during a negotiated period of time; and (2) Law Firm Sales 2.0, which involves a fixed price, plus earnout terms, where the fixed price derives from the predictability of client originations attributable a selling law firm’s Digital Value and Brand Equity.

During Ep. 37 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show, Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. addresses the following question: I found a Buyer for my law firm, but we have not agreed upon terms yet. What do you recommend? At the outset, Poock clarifies the scope of the question to apply to Small Business Law Firms, typically owned by 1 or more founders. Poock next distinguishes between why sellers typically have difficulty agreeing upon terms with either of  the following 2 types of purchasers:   (a) Internal successors; and   (b) Growing Law Firm purchasers.   Regarding internal successors, Poock explains the following as typical reasons for why negotiations stall:   Most internal successor prefer remaining as key employee lawyers because of their concerns about the following risks associated with purchasing their boss’ law firm: (i) Risk of decreased originations after the firm’s founding Rainmaker(s) retire; (ii) Risk of not affording to pay a purchase price; (iii) A need to work even harder; (iv) A worsening work-life balance; (v) Personal financial risk associated with guarantying an office lease and bank credit line; and (vi) Risk of key employees departing the firm.   Based upon those risks, key employee lawyers often stall negotiating purchase terms, followed by, at some point, sharing their preference to remain as an employee, rather than an owner of their boss’ law firm.   Poock then explains the following typical reasons for why negotiations stall between selling law firms and Growing Law Firm purchasers: (i) Discomfort with asking difficult questions during due diligence; (ii) Not necessarily knowing terms to include in a letter of intent, offer, or similar document; and (iii) Difficulty negotiating financial terms with a buyer who is often a colleague or friendly competitor.   As a cure to such stalled negotiations, Poock shares the following advice:   That the parties consider engaging a deal intermediary to facilitate completing due diligence, negotiating purchase terms, and preparing an agreement.   Here’s why:   The value of a deal intermediary includes: (i) Asking difficult questions to a seller and a buyer, including financial questions, experience level questions, post-Closing role questions, and more; (ii) Sharing the answers to difficult questions with each party, together with assisting the parties to remain focused on reaching deal terms; (iii) Facilitating the negotiation of deal terms; and (iv) Assisting with drafting deal terms into a Letter of Intent, followed by an agreement.   So, when a selling law firm and a purchasing law firm become “stuck in the mud” with reaching terms, a deal intermediary can provide the value needed to assist the parties with completing due diligence, facilitating negotiations, and reaching a win-win agreement.

During Ep. 37 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show, Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. addresses the following question: Why do purchasing law firms need to hire the lawyers and support staff of a selling law firm? As Poock explains, “There's really four reasons why purchasing law firms need the lawyers and support staff from a selling law firm, and it's broken down into two categories. The first two needs relate to the clients of a selling law firm, and the second two needs [relate] to the clients of a purchasing law firm.   Regarding the first category, as it relates to the clients of a selling law firm, Poock explains that the lawyers and support of a selling law firm fulfill the following 2 needs of a purchasing law firm:   1. Continue representing the clients who comprise the Book of Business that a selling law firm presents to a purchasing law firm; and   2. Facilitate the post-sale “Trust Transfer” of the clients of a selling law firm to the lawyers and support staff of the purchasing law firm.   Regarding the second category, as it relates to the clients of a purchasing law firm, Poock points out the following:   1. As today’s Growing Law Firms continue to generate new clients digitally, they need talented lawyers and support staff to provide high quality legal services to those clients, which the experienced lawyers and support staff of a selling law firm can provide, often with minimal, additional training.   2. In addition to needing talented and experienced lawyers and support staff, Growing Law Firms need a stable workforce, which lawyers and support staff from a selling law firm provide because they have a similar need for stability in the form of needing to maintain a reliable, predictable, and safe job.   Taken together, purchasing law firms need the lawyers and support staff of a selling law firm to: (a) Ensure maintaining relationships with the clients of a selling law firm; and (b) Increase the talent pool at a purchasing law firm to provide top notch legal services to clients whom a purchasing firm self-originates, often via digital marketing in today’s Digital Era for the legal industry.

In Episode 72 of the State of the Market for Law Firm Sales in 11 Minutes, Senior Attorney Match’s Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. addresses the following: The 4.5 Reasons Why MSOs Have Arrived to the Legal Industry      During the course of Ep. 72, Poock explains the following reasons why Management Services Organizations (MSOs) have arrived to the legal industry in the mid-2020s.   Reason No. 1: Today’s clients search for lawyers online   Reason No. 2: The emergence of Digital Rainmaker law firms   Reason No. 3: Today’s lawyers want a Reliable, Predictable & Safe Job   Reason No. 3.5: Legal Tech delivers better work-life balance for today’s lawyers   Reason No. 4: Opportunities for Profits & Exits