Poock’s Post Segment of Episode 14 of “The Ask the Law Firm Seller Show”

Episode 14 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show includes 3 segments. In Segment 3., host, Jeremy E. Poock, Esq., presents the following Poock’s Post:

“Your key employee lawyers do not want to purchase your law firm . . . and can’t afford to either”

 

As Poock explains, most Senior Attorneys share the following 4 false expectations that their key employee lawyers will someday offer to purchase their law firms:

 

1. False Expectation that Key Employee Lawyers Do Not Only Want a Job: Most Senior Attorneys hired their key employee lawyers during a growth period for their law firms. When Senior Attorneys later approach their retirement years, they falsely expect that their key employee lawyers will suddenly morph from relying upon a safe and predictable twice per month paycheck to the financial uncertainty associated with owning a small business law firm.

 

2. False Expectation that Key Employee Lawyers Can Become Small Business Law Firm Owners: As Senior Attorneys consider to whom to sell their law firms, they falsely expect that their capable and competent key employee lawyers will aspire to become small business law firm owners without recognizing that they intentionally decided to go to law school rather than business school.

 

3. False Expectation that Key Employee Lawyers Can Afford to Purchase a Law Firm: Senior Attorneys falsely expect that their key employee lawyers can afford to purchase their law firms without recognizing their pre-existing financial obligations, which often include ongoing student loan debt, a home mortgage, car payments, and additional monthly expenses, together with goals to save for retirement, help pay for their kids’ college tuition, and save-up for their next [FILL-IN THE BLANK] major purchase that does not include purchasing their boss’ law firm.

 

4. False Expectation that Key Employee Lawyers Believe that Their Boss Will Ever Retire: Despite Senior Attorneys signaling their dual goals to sell the practice and retire, their continuous 40+ hours per week at the office, together with generating the work, overseeing the work, and managing the staff creates a false expectation by key employee lawyers that their boss will never retire, i.e., Senior Attorneys falsely expect that their key employee lawyers actually “get it” that their boss really does want to retire by selling the practice to them.

 

As Poock explains, the 4 false expectations typically lead to either of the following possibilities:

 

(1) A Random Tuesday Departure by a Key Employee Lawyer(s): In this scenario, once key employee lawyers no longer consider their job as reliable, safe, and predictable, they will search for another job, followed by providing their Senior Attorney bosses with either a 2 or 4 week notice that they plan to join another firm - the effect of which causes the following short-term and long-term losses:

 

(i) Short-term revenue losses stemming from less billings and the potential loss of clients; and

 

(ii) A long-term loss in law firm value attributable to a potential loss of clients, as well as losing access to those key employee lawyers whom Growing Law Firms want and need to continue providing sophisticated legal services to a selling firm’s clients post-sale or merger.

 

(2) A Realization that Key Employee Lawyers Do Not Want to Purchase a Senior Attorney-Led Firm: When (if) Senior Attorneys realize that their key employee lawyers prefer a safe, reliable, and predictable job than own a law firm, Senior Attorneys then recognize the value of selling to or merging with a Growing Law Firm.

 

And, when Senior Attorneys, together with their key employee lawyers, join a Growing Law Firm, the following 4 wins result:

 

(i) A win for Senior Attorneys who can sell their law practices to a firm lead by lawyers who want and need what Senior Attorneys present (clients, talented and experienced workforce, and treasure chests of digital content);

 

(ii) A win for key employee lawyers who want to maintain their safe, predictable, and reliable jobs;

 

(iii) A win for clients who want and need ongoing, competent, and zealous legal representation; and

 

(iv) A win for Growing Law Firms who benefit from instant client growth, addition of talented lawyers and para-staff, and access to treasure chests of Digital Content to advance their multi-channel digital marketing efforts to digitally attract new clients in today’s 3.0 Digital Era for the legal industry.