Senior Attorney Match Podcast

Q.1 from Ep. 24 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show: Why do key employee lawyers consider purchasing their boss’ law firm as too risky?

During Ep. 24 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show, Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. addresses the following question:

Why do key employee lawyers consider purchasing their boss’ law firm as too risky?

 

As Poock explains, “[W]hat we see in the marketplace is that when Senior Attorneys consider selling their law firms to whom they consider an internal successor, which is typically one or more key employee lawyers . . .those key employee lawyers will perform a Risks vs. Rewards analysis, where the risks all too often outweigh the rewards.”

 

Even though key employee lawyers recognize the benefits of potentially higher compensation, access to firm profits, and the ability to succeeding to managing the practice, they also spot the following issues when considering purchasing their boss’ law firm:

 

• What if they are not able to originate the same amount, or even more clients, than the Senior Attorney founder(s) of the firm.

 

• How will they replace the Senior Attorney founder(s) of the firm from the standpoints of rainmaking and revenue generation?

 

• What if instead of benefiting by higher compensation and access to profits, their compensation actually decreases?

 

• What about taking on personal exposure in the form of guarantying a lease and bank credit line for the firm?

 

• What if a key lawyer or para-staff unexpectedly leave the firm?

 

Based upon the risks outweighing the rewards, Poock points out that key employee lawyers typically do not want to purchase their boss’ law firm and cannot afford to either.

 

Instead, key employee lawyers at Senior Attorney-led firms typically want and need the following:

 

A reliable, predictable, and safe job.

The Dos & Don’ts for Succession Planning for Lawyers in the Mid-2020s

In Ep. 60 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 Do’s & Don’ts of Succession Planning for Lawyers in the Mid-2020s

 

Poock explains the following 5 Dos:

 

(1) Update Book of Business contact info. (addresses, e-mails, cell phone nos.)

 

(2) Recognize that Key Employee Lawyers do not want to purchase their boss’ law firm because they want a reliable, predictable & safe job

 

(3) Update content & pics. for the firm’s website, plus request 5-Star Google reviews from clients

 

(4) Consider selling or merging with a Growing Law Firm that wants & needs new clients, experienced lawyer/non-lawyer staff & digital content

 

(5) Expand digital marketing (egs. update LinkedIn profile & regularly post to social media platforms)

 

Poock also explains the following 5 Don’ts:

 

(1) Wait too long to sell if your firm originates fewer new clients in the Mid-2020s than Pre-Google

 

(2) Assume that Key Employee Lawyers want to become Internal Successors

 

(3) Underestimate “Uncle Google” as America’s greatest referral source for attorneys

 

(4) Maintain the Status Quo & risk a Random Tuesday Event (egs. unexpected departure of a Key Employee Lawyer; pre-mature death or incapacity of a Senior Attorney law firm owner)

 

(5) Overlook converting Subject Matter Knowledge to Digital Marketing Content

Clio CLE Program - Passing the Torch: How to Sell, Merge, or Transition Your Law Firm for Maximum Value – Clio Solo & Small Firm Virtual Summit, May 8, 2025

In this 1 hour CLE program during Clio’s May 8, 2025 Solo & Small Firm Virtual Summit, Senior Attorney Match’s Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. and Schwabe partner, Steve Horenstein, Esq., discuss how to value, sell, and purchase a law firm post-2020, together with the ethical rules associated with succession planning for lawyers.

 

Horenstein shares his first-hand experience after merging his Vancouver, WA practice with a regional law firm, Schwabe, in 2022. 

 

Alex Bramos of Clio moderates the CLE program, including its Q&A session.

 

Topics include:

 

(1) How to value a law firm;

 

(2) The 3 options for selling a law firm;

 

(3) Important items to update and organize 12-24 months before selling a law firm;

 

(4) The top 5 mistakes to avoid before selling a law firm;

 

(5) The value of growth by acquisition;

 

(6) The 4 steps needed to achieve success post-sale; and

 

(7) The Professional Rules of Conduct associated with Succession Planning for Lawyers

Poock’s Post from Ep. 24 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show: The Do’s & Don’ts of Succession Planning for Lawyers

During the Poock’s Post segment of Ep. 24 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show, Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. addresses the following:

The Do’s & Don’ts of Succession Planning for Lawyers

 

Poock explains the following 5 Dos:

 

(1) Update Book of Business contact info. (addresses, e-mails, cell phone nos.)

 

(2) Recognize that Key Employee Lawyers do not want to purchase their boss’ law firm because they want a reliable, predictable & safe job

 

(3) Update content & pics. for the firm’s website, plus request 5-Star Google reviews from clients

 

(4) Consider selling or merging with a Growing Law Firm that wants & needs new clients, experienced lawyer/non-lawyer staff & digital content

 

(5) Expand digital marketing (egs. update LinkedIn profile & regularly post to social media platforms)

 

Poock also explains the following Don’ts:

 

(1) Wait too long to sell if your firm originates fewer new clients in the Mid-2020s than Pre-Google

 

(2) Assume that Key Employee Lawyers want to become Internal Successors

 

(3) Underestimate “Uncle Google” as America’s greatest referral source for attorneys

 

(4) Maintain the Status Quo & risk a Random Tuesday Event (egs. unexpected departure of a Key Employee Lawyer; pre-mature death or incapacity of a Senior Attorney law firm owner)

 

(5) Overlook converting Subject Matter Knowledge to Digital Marketing Content

Why Most Key Employee Lawyers Choose Not to Purchase Their Boss’ Law Firm

In Ep. 59, Senior Attorney Match’s Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. explains why most key employee lawyers do not want to purchase their boss’ law firm.

As Poock points out, key employee lawyers typically do not want to purchase their boss’ law firm because, at some point, they will perform a Risks vs. Rewards analysis.

 

Even though the rewards, at the outset, appear appealing, the risks often outweigh those rewards.

 

The rewards include: (i) Increased compensation and access to profits; (ii) Management authority to make changes; and (iii) The option and ability to grow the practice.

 

As good lawyers, key employee lawyers then start spotting issues, i.e., risks, which include the following: (i) The possibility of not originating enough new clients to maintain the firm’s cash flow needs; (ii) The challenge of replacing a Senior Attorney founder from the standpoints of skills, billings, and rainmaking capabilities; (iii) The potential for making less money rather than more; (iv) Personal debt exposure (egs. personal guaranty to a lease or line credit); (v) Decrease in work-life balance; (vi) Unforeseen changes (ex. loss of 1 or more key employees).

 

“So, when key employee lawyers . . . perform this Risks vs. Rewards analysis, the risks just all too often outweigh the rewards,” Poock states.

 

Poock also points out that most key employee lawyers do not want to purchase their boss’ law firm and cannot afford to either.

 

Instead, most key employee lawyers seek the following:

 

A reliable, safe, and predictable job.

 

When Senior Attorney law firm owners falsely expect their key employee lawyers to purchase their law firms, unfortunately, such false expectations can result in a Random Tuesday Event, where a key employee lawyer gives his or her boss only 2 or 4 weeks notice in advance of joining another firm. 

 

In addition to the short-term loss in revenues that such a Random Tuesday Event can cause, Poock explains that the unexpected departure of a key employee presents the following longer-term negative impacts, as well: (i) The inability to retain as many new clients if the firm no longer has the capacity to represent as many clients; and (ii) A loss in firm value due to a combination of (a) A potential loss of clients who join a former key employee at a new law firm; and (b) Decreased appeal to a Growing Law Firm purchaser who wants and needs a selling law firm’s key employee lawyer to continue representing the firm’s clients, as well as clients of a purchaser’s firm.

 

By contrast, when Senior Attorney law firm owners recognize (realize) that their key employee lawyers do not want to purchase their law firm and can’t afford to either, they can then realize the following:

 

Key employee lawyers present 1 of the following 3 key resources that Growing Law Firm purchases seek when purchasing a law firm:

 

1. The Selling law firm’s Book of Business

 

2. Key employee lawyers and para-staff, whom Growing Law Firms want and need for the purposes of continuing to represent a Seller’s clients, plus clients of a Growing Law Firm.

 

3. The combined subject matter knowledge of Senior Attorneys and their key employee lawyers, which today’s Growing Law Firms need to convert to digital content for the purposes of attracting the attention of today’s and tomorrow’s clients who search online for lawyers and law firms to retain.

 

And, when Senior Attorneys sell their law firms to Growing Law Firms, Poock explains the following 4 Winners that result:

 

1. Senior Attorneys: Senior Attorneys win by monetizing their law firms; spending more time with their families; no longer needing to manage “the office;” and having the option to continue practicing in an Of Counsel type capacity for months, or even years to come.

 

2. Key Employee Lawyers & Para-Staff: Key employee lawyers and para-staff win by maintaining a reliable, predictable and safe job, as well as the benefits and joy of maintaining their team at a new employer.

 

3. Clients: Clients of a Senior Attorney-led firm win by benefiting from continuing, competent legal representation.

 

4. Growing Law Firms: A Growing Law Firm purchaser wins by acquiring the following 3 resources needed to boost growth (i) Clients; (ii) Experienced lawyer and non-lawyer staff; and (iii) Subject Matter Knowledge offered by Senior Attorneys and key employee lawyers to convert into digital content to boost their multi-channel digital marketing efforts to generate new clients who search online today for lawyers and law firms to retain.

The Devastating Impact of a Random Tuesday Event upon Law Firm Value

In Ep. 58 of the State of the Market for Law Firm Sales in 11 Minutes, Senior Attorney Match’s Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. addresses the following 2 Random Tuesday Events:

1. A Key Employee Random Tuesday Event; and

 

2. A Pre-Mature Death or Incapacity Random Tuesday Event

 

A Key Employee Random Tuesday Event occurs when a key employee lawyer(s), typically the lawyer(s) whom a Senior Attorney views as the firm’s internal successor, provides only 2 or 4 weeks about accepting a new job at another law firm.

 

This type of Random Tuesday event causes the following short-term and long-term negative results for a Senior Attorney-led law firm.

 

Short-Term Impact: In the short term, the sudden loss of a key employee attorney impacts law firm revenues because key employee attorneys typically generate considerable billings, either in the form of hourly billings or revenues derived from flat fee or contingency type matters.

 

Immediate losses also stem from the potential loss of clients and referral sources who may choose to continue working with a key employee lawyer at the law firm that a key employee lawyer joins.

 

Long-Term Impact: A Key Employee Random Tuesday Event negatively impacts the following 2 key components of a Senior Attorney-led firm’s long-term value:

 

1. The value of a Senior Attorney-led firm’s Book of Business due to (i) The loss of clients and referral sources who follow a key employee lawyer to a new law firm; and (ii) The potential for not accepting as many new clients if the firm can no longer service the work before replacing a key employee lawyer; and

 

2. Decreased appeal to a Growing Law Firm purchaser due to Growing Law Firms seeking the following when considering growth by acquisition: (i) A Book of Business; and (2) Experienced, key employee lawyers to continue providing sophisticated legal services to a seller’s clients post-sale.

 

Once Senior Attorneys realize that their key employee attorneys prefer a reliable, predictable, and safe job, Senior Attorneys can then pursue a sale with a Growing Law Firm that seeks the following 3 resources to boost growth (1) Clients; (2) An experienced workforce, including key employee attorneys; and (3) Digital content derived from the subject matter knowledge of Senior Attorneys and key employee attorneys alike.

 

A Pre-Mature Death or Incapacity Random Tuesday Event occurs when a Senior Attorney law firm owner prematurely dies or becomes incapacitated prior to selling their law firm or establishing an internal succession plan.

 

Here, we focus on small business law firms, lead by 1 or more Senior Attorney founders and for whom their key employee lawyers do not want to purchase their boss’ law firm and cannot afford to either.

 

In those instances, the primary sale option involves selling or merging with a Growing Law Firm per a Law Firm Sales 1.0 type structure that consists of fee sharing upon a percentage of collections derived from a defined Book of Business during a negotiated period of time.

 

In the event of a Pre-Mature Death or Incapacity Random Tuesday Event, the value of the Senior Attorney-led law firm plummets because of the unavailability of Trust Transfer by the Senior Attorney who maintains the relationships with the firm’s clients.

 

Instead, a Pre-Mature Death or Incapacity Random Tuesday Event typically results in the firm’s clients retaining successor counsel, or receiving referrals to successor counsel at 1 or more law firms without any fee sharing terms.

 

Even if a personal representative or power of attorney can sell a law firm following a Pre-Mature Death or Incapacity Random Tuesday Event, the consideration typically involves minimal realization of the firm’s true value due to the inability for its Senior Attorney owner to transfer the trust of clients to lawyers at a purchasing law firm.

Q.2 from Ep. 22 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show: Why do Key Employee Lawyers at Senior Attorney-led Firms not want to purchase their boss’ law firm?

During Ep. 22 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show, Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. addresses the following question:

Why do Key Employee Lawyers at Senior Attorney-led Firms not want to purchase their boss’ law firm?

 

In response, Poock first explains the following 4 reasons why key employee lawyers do not want to purchase their boss’ law firm:

 

1. Owners of Senior Attorney-led firms hired their key employee lawyers “X” number of years ago, and those same key employee lawyers continue to only want a job, as compared to aspiring to becoming the owner of their boss’ law firm.

 

2. Key employee lawyers went to law school and not business school, i.e., the vast majority of key employee lawyers do not consider themselves as professional lawyers, as compared to entrepreneurs who seek to own and grow a small business law firm.

 

3. Key employee lawyers cannot afford to purchase their boss’ law firm because of too many other monthly expenses, including home mortgages, ongoing student debt, saving for their retirement, saving to help their children with college tuition, saving to purchase a second home, etc.

 

4. An assumption (hope) by key employee lawyers that their Senior Attorney bosses will never retire.

 

Poock also explains the following more fundamental reason why key employee lawyers do not want to purchase their boss’ law firm:

 

Key employee lawyers want and need to maintain a “Reliable, Predictable, and Safe” (RPS) job.

 

As Poock points out, key employee lawyers often maintain a RPS meter, which they seek to remain green, i.e., safe.

 

So, when Senior Attorney bosses approach their key employee lawyers to discuss purchasing their law practices, the RPS meter of those key employee lawyers often immediately shifts from green (safe) to red, i.e., no longer reliable, predictable, and safe.

 

In fact, as Poock, explains, rather than having an intended effect of key employees expressing an interest purchase their boss’ law firm, the effect of the RPS meter shifting from green to red can lead to a “Random Tuesday Event,” namely, the applicable key employee lawyer(s) notifying their Senior Attorney boss about accepting another job, together with providing only 2 or 4 weeks notice.

 

Rather than risk the loss of key employees to a Random Tuesday event, Poock advises that Senior Attorneys recognize that their key employee lawyers likely want to maintain a Reliable, Predictable, and Safe Job.

And, rather than pursue an internal succession plan that could result in a Random Tuesday Event, Poock explains that Senior Attorney sellers of law firms should instead pursue selling to, or merging with a Growing Law Firm that wants and needs the key employee lawyers of Senior Attorney-led firms.

 

“[R]ather than try to force the square peg into that round hole of having [a] key employee lawyer try to purchase your practice, we really urge that Senior Attorneys recognize that what your key employees want instead is a reliable, predictable, and safe job, which is what growing law firms present when they purchase Senior Attorney-led firms,” Poock states.

Q.1 from Ep. 22 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show: If I merge my law firm with a Growing Law Firm, won’t I suddenly have a new boss?

During Ep. 22 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show, Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. addresses the following question:

If I merge my law firm with a Growing Law Firm, won’t I suddenly have a new boss?

In response, Poock begins by explaining that when Senior Attorneys contact Senior Attorney Match, they often share the following commonalities: (a) An interest to stop managing their small business law firms; and (b) Their hope that their key employee lawyers will recognize the opportunity to purchase the practice that their Senior Attorney boss has developed.

 

Regarding key employee lawyers becoming internal successors, Poock states, “When we meet with Senior Attorneys, we find out often that their key employee lawyers are just that, their key employees. You hired them to do a job. They really only want a job, and they don't want to purchase you a law firm.”

 

That then leads to the following question to address a Senior Attorney seller’s interest to stop managing their practice and monetize the practice that they worked an entire career to develop:

 

What is the next best option for selling a Senior Attorney-led firm if a key employee lawyer(s) does not want to purchase the practice?

 

That option involves selling to, or merging with, a Growing Law Firm that recognizes the value of growth by acquisition and will often need Senior Attorneys to continue practicing for an agreed-upon time period to transition clients and referral sources to the acquiring law firm.

 

Upon learning about this option, Senior Attorney owners typically raise the following issue/concern:

 

By selling to or merging with a Growing Law Firm, won't I suddenly have a new boss?

 

In response, Poock shares that Senior Attorneys do not have a boss when they join Growing Law Firms as part of a law firm sale or merger for the following reason:

 

Senior Attorney sellers present instant client growth to the Growing Law Firms that they join.

 

As Poock states, “[R]ather than having a new boss at the firms that our clients join, our Senior Attorney clients join firms with [a] name tag . . . that says: ‘Hello, I bring instant client growth to your firm.’”

 

In addition to not having a boss, Poock explains the following additional benefits that selling to, or merging with, a Growing Law Firm presents to Senior Attorney sellers of law firms:

 

1. No longer needing to manage “the office,” including no longer making payroll every two weeks, paying rent every month, handle hiring/firing, etc.

 

2. Experience the freedom of spending more time outside of “the office,” including finally having time to take a multi-week vacation.

 

3. Benefiting from the proverbial “deep bench” of attorneys and support staff that Growing Law Firms present, including typically maintaining the lawyer and non-lawyer staff of a Senior Attorney-led firm.

 

4. Establishing a legacy for the Senior Attorney owner(s), which consists of the following 4 components (i) Ensuring ongoing, competent representation of the Senior Attorney’s clients; (ii) Securing ongoing employment for the lawyers and support staff of a Senior Attorney-led firm who often join the acquiring firm; (iii) Sharing the subject matter knowledge that Senior Attorneys have developed over the course of their careers with younger attorneys at the firms that they join; and (iv) Participating in converting a Senior Attorney’s subject matter knowledge into digital content for publication on a Growing Law Firm’s website and in its Multi-Channel Digital Marketing efforts (egs. podcasts, YouTube videos, posts to social media, and more).

Q.3 from Ep. 22 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show: What Value Do Senior Attorney-led Personal Injury Law Firms Offer to Growing Personal Injury Law Firms?

During Ep. 22 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show, Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. addresses the following question:

What value do Senior Attorney-led Personal Injury Law Firms offer to Growing Personal Injury Law Firms?

In response, Poock explains the following dual value that Senior Attorney-led Personal Injury Law Firms offer to Growing Personal Injury Law Firms:

 

1. Value No. 1 – Originate New Clients: In contrast to the rising costs for today’s Growing PI firms to generate new clients (egs. Google, optimized websites, vanity phone numbers, social media, ads on TV, radio, and via billboards, and lead generation cos.), Senior Attorney-led PI firms present the following lower costs for originating new clients: (a) Established Books of Business filled with clients and referral sources; (b) Rainmaker attorneys well known in their communities who continue generating new matters via their word-of-mouth reputations among individuals and professionals; (c) Legacy phone numbers; (d) Mature websites; and (e) Untapped digital value in terms of (1) Access to 100s (even 1000s) of 5-Star Google Reviews; and (2) Opportunities to convert decades worth of subject matter knowledge to digital content to post via Multi-Channel Digital Marketing to attract the attention of potential clients.

 

As Poock states, “[I]t's very expensive for growing PI firms today to acquire new clients because the only way to acquire those new clients is by investing in Google, optimizing your website, vanity, phone numbers, social media, TV, radio, billboards and lead gen companies.

 

A far less expensive way to be generating new clients today is by purchasing, acquiring, merging with Senior Attorney-led firms that offer legacy value in terms of Books of Business, rainmaking skills, legacy phone numbers, websites that are mature, and untapped, digital value in the form of Google reviews, and converting subject matter knowledge into digital content.”

 

2. Value No. 2 – Maximize Case Value: Once Growing Personal Injury Law Firms originate new clients, the following question arises: How do we maximize case value?

 

“[A]nd, that's where Senior Attorneys at Senior Attorney-led [PI] firms offer tremendous value to those growing PI firms,” Poock states.

 

Examples of how Senior Attorney PI attorneys maximize case value include: (a) Assisting with signing-up high value cases based upon experience, coupled with the ability to assure clients that they are in “good hands” with a law firm that has been there/done that, including experience with achieving high value results in matters just like theirs; (b) Decades of experience of knowing how to “build the case;” (c) The value of including a Senior Attorney PI’s signature to a demand letter or complaint, where insurance companies and defense counsel immediately know the trial and settlement history of the attorney representing the Plaintiff’s interest; (d) A career’s worth of experience with Discovery and conducting depositions; and (e) Trial ready, including often maintaining reputations among defense counsel, mediators, and judges.

 

As Poock summarizes, for those Growing PI law firms who continue spending vast sums to generate new clients, Senior Attorney-led firms present tremendous opportunities to maximize case values because of their experience, know-how, and reputations.

How Digital Disruption has Resulted in the Age of the Vanishing Rainmaker

In Ep. 57, Senior Attorney Match’s Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. explains how digital marketing disruption has resulted in the Age of the Vanishing Rainmaker.

As Poock points out, “[D]igital marketing disruption is here. That is, clients today are searching for lawyers online. They are by-passing yester-year's Rainmaker Attorneys . . . Today's and tomorrow's clients will go straight to Uncle Google and other social media, multi-channel digital platforms to be searching for lawyers and law firms . . . It is disrupting client origination. And, we are absolutely seeing that Senior Attorneys that remain in that pre-Google age . . . are just generating less new clients during this Digital Marketing disruption era that we are in here in the mid-2020s.”

 

As Poock also states, “[W]e say that Uncle Google is America's greatest referral source for lawyers and law firms. Uncle Google is also America's greatest rainmaker for lawyers and law firms. And, if clients are literally by-passing yester-year’s Rainmaker, then, what we're seeing before our eyes is that Vanishing Rainmaker from the Word of Mouth pre-Google era because if you're not going to be found, you're not going to be hired.”

 

Poock then shares the following 2 choices for Senior Attorneys in the Mid-2020s with respect to today’s 3.0 Digital Era for the legal industry:

 

1. Adopt Multi-Channel Digital Marketing to attract the attention of potential clients and continue replenishing their firm’s Book of Business; or

 

2. Consider selling or merging with a Growing Law Firm that wants the following 3 resources that Senior Attorney-led firms offer: (a) Instant client growth via Books of Business developed during the pre-Google Word-of-Mouth Era; (b) Talented lawyer and non-lawyer staff whom Growing Law Firms need to produce sophisticated legal work; and (c) Untapped treasure chests of digital content by converting the subject matter knowledge of Senior Attorneys and additional attorneys at Senior Attorney-led firms into digital content to publish via Multi-Channel Digital Marketing to attract the attention of new clients.

 

Even though the Age of the Vanishing Rainmaker will result in Senior Attorney-led firms having less value due to not replenishing their Books of Business, Poock shares the following:

 

“[A]t this point in the mid-2020s, we highly recommend to Senior Attorney-led firms that this is the best time for you to consider selling or merging your practice because it has the most value and presents the best value to Growing Law Firms that want and need what you have.”