Q.1 from Ep. 26 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show: How long does it take to sell a law firm?

During Ep. 26 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show, Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. addresses the following question:

How long does it take to sell a law firm?

Poock answers this question by explaining the following 3 stages involved with selling a law firm:

 

Stage 1: Preparing to sell a law firm

 

Poock points out that during the 12-24 months prior to selling a law firm, the owner(s) of a selling law firm should organize the following:

 

• The law firm’s client list, including addresses, e-mail addresses, and cell phone numbers.

 

• Update the firm’s website, including updating content, removing stale content, and refreshing bios & pics.

 

Ideally, updating a website should include adding 5-Star Google Reviews from satisfied clients because potential buyers and clients want to review 5-Star Google reviews, similar to how consumers expect to review 5-Star Google reviews prior purchasing any product or service in today’s digital era.

 

• Update social media profiles, and particularly, LinkedIn bios & pics.

 

• Review all contracts that are not terminable at will (egs. commercial lease, software licenses, malpractice insurance, copy machine lease, etc.).

 

Stage 2: The 6 Meetings Needed to Sell a Law Firm

 

The 6 meetings needed to sell a law firm are as follows:

 

• Meet & Greet
• Due Diligence
• Negotiate a Letter of Intent
• Sign the Letter of Intent
• Negotiate a definitive Agreement
• Sign the Agreement

 

Poock explains that the process from Meet & Greet to Signing the Agreement can involve circa 3-9 months, and sometimes, longer.

 

Stage 3: The 4 Steps to Achieve Success after Selling a Law Firm

 

The 4 steps to achieve success after selling a law firm are as follows:

 

• Listening Tour
• Adapt
• Adopt
• Grow Together

 

Toward the end of answering Question 1, Poock offers the following:

 

[I]n terms of how do we know that the deal is successful? We started . . . with a meet and greet and went through due diligence and . . . signed an agreement. We know that we have success . . . when our clients will say, “I should have done this earlier.”