Q.2 from Ep. 25 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show: Why should Senior Attorney-led Firms consider selling or merging with a Growing Law Firm in the Mid-2020s?

During Ep. 25 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show, Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. addresses the following question:

Why should Senior Attorney-led Firms consider selling or merging with a Growing Law Firm in the Mid-2020s?

 

As Poock explains, those Senior Attorneys who built their Books of Business during the pre-Google Word-of-Mouth Era will not originate as many clients as yester-year because today’s (and tomorrow’s) clients continue searching for lawyers and law firms via “Uncle Google,” America’s greatest referral source and rainmaker for law firms in today’s Digital Era for the legal industry.

 

As Poock states, “[B]usiness development for law firms fundamentally changed post-2020. And, the reason why is because of a shift in consumer behavior . . . They are going straight to Google . . . And, for those law firms that are investing in multi-channel digital marketing, they're attracting more clients than those than those . . . Senior Attorney-led firms that are maintaining a website only, Word-of-Mouth type approach.”

 

As Poock also explains, “[I]f your firm is generating less clients in the post-2020 era because you're not investing in digital marketing to attract new clients, and if you're seeing that your firm is not generating as many clients as you did in the pre-Google Word-of-Mouth era, then now is the right time to sell.”

 

This episode also explains that Growing Law Firms want and need the following 3 resources that Senior Attorney-led firms offer:

 

(1) New clients from a Senior Attorney-led firm’s Book of Business.

 

(2) Key employee lawyers and para-staff; and

 

(3) Treasure chests of subject matter knowledge to convert into digital content to attract the attention of today’s (and tomorrow’s) clients who search for lawyer and law firms online.

 

In addition, Poock debunks the following 3 fears that many Senior Attorneys express about selling or merging with a Growing Law Firm:

 

(1) Fear of having a Boss

 

(2) Fear of losing control by no longer managing “the office”

 

(3) Fear of loss of identity by transitioning from owning a law firm to joining a Growing Law Firm

 

And, the episode concludes with the following overview of typical payment terms by Growing Law Firms when acquiring Senior Attorney-led firms:

 

“What we're seeing, and what we call Law Firm Sales 1.0, is that when you are transitioning your Book of Business (your clients and your referral sources) to the lawyers at Growing Law Firms . . . that the consideration is structured as an earnout, that is, that you're being paid a percentage of the revenues that is derived from your Book of Business, paid over a negotiated period of time, which often happens during your retirement years. Hence, you're able to monetize, annuitize that all important Book of Business that you've worked so hard over the course of your career to develop.”