Senior Attorney Match Podcast

Growth by Acquisition Opportunities for Trial Attorney Firms in 2022

In this State of the Market for Law Firms episode, Senior Attorney Match’s Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. and Litify’s Dov Slansky discuss growth by acquisition opportunities for Trial Attorney Firms in 2022.

Key points include:

(1) The market is ripe for growth by acquisition in the Trial Attorney space;

(2) Growth by acquisition favors Trial Attorney firms that recognize the need to embrace technology in today’s 3.0 Digital Era; and

(3) Senior Attorney Trial Attorneys present tremendous Synergy Value to Growing Trial Attorney Firms.

The Impact of the Post-2020 Digital Era upon Law Firm Sales

In this State of the Market for Law Firms episode, Senior Attorney Match’s Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. discusses the impact of the Post-2020 Digital Era upon law firm sales.

Key points include:

· 2020 pivoted (really, plunged) the legal industry into the 3.0 Digital Era.

· Business development for law firms will continue favoring Growing Law Firms that embrace Multichannel Digital Marketing post-2020 because clients continue searching for their lawyers online.

· In reality, most Senior Attorneys are not adopting the same levels of digital marketing as their younger competitors.

· The Post-2020 Digital Era presents a supply and demand dynamic between:

Client attention migrating to Growing Law Firms (the Supply); and

The need by those clients for talented and experienced legal counsel (the Demand).

· As Growing Law Firms consider how to deliver the talent that their clients demand, Senior Attorneys present tremendous “Synergy Value.”

· When Growing Law Firms acquire Senior Attorney lead firms, it presents a “1 + 1 = 7” Business Development opportunity by applying Post-2020 digital marketing to the clients and referral sources that Senior Attorneys have developed during the course of their careers.

The 4 Reasons Why Law Firms Should Consider Growth by Acquisition in 2022

In this State of the Market for Law Firms episode, Senior Attorney Match’s Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. discusses the 4 reasons why law firms should consider growth by acquisition in 2022.

Key points include:

1. The 4 reasons for why law firms should consider growth by acquisition: 

• Instant Client Growth;
• Combining a Senior Attorney’s experienced workforce with a Growing Law Firm;
• The Cumulative Experience of Senior Attorneys, together with their lawyer and support staff; and
• The Marketing Value that Senior Attorneys present. 

2. The 1 + 1 = 7 Business Development opportunities that Senior Attorneys present to Growing Law Firms.

 

3. Senior Attorneys offer tremendous Synergy Value to Growing Law Firms.

The 5 Components to Valuing a Law Practice Post-2020

In this State of the Market for Law Firms episode, Senior Attorney Match’s Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. discusses the 5 components to valuing a law practice post-2020.

Key points include:

1. Pre-2020, law firm value consisted of the following 4 components: (1) Client List; (2) Referral Source List; (3) Good Will; and (4) Subject Matter knowledge.
2. 2020 propelled the legal industry into the 3.0 Digital Era and introduced the following 5^th new component to valuing a law practice: Digital Value.
3. Senior Attorneys who continue practicing in the 1.0 Word of Mouth Era and 2.0 Website Plus Era will continue losing market share to law firms that embrace the 3.0 Digital Era and its accompanying Multi-Channel Digital Marketing approach to business development.
4. Senior Attorneys offer tremendous Synergy Value to Growing Law Firms via the 5 Components of Value that Senior Attorneys have developed over the course of their careers.

Why Growing Law Firms Want & Need the 4 Components of Value that Senior Attorneys Present

In this State of the Market for Law Firm Sales, Senior Attorney Match’s Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. and Scott R. Loring, CPCC, address why Growing Law Firms want and need the 4 components of value that Senior Attorneys present

Key points include:

1. Growing Law Firms want and need the following 4 components of value that Senior Attorneys present: (i) New Clients; (ii) New Referral Sources; (iii) Good Will; and (iv) Subject Matter Knowledge.

2. Growing Law Firms that have adopted Multi-Channel Digital Marketing present a “1 + 1 = 7” business development opportunity for Senior Attorneys by: (i) Marketing to a Senior Attorney’s clients and referral sources; and (ii) Marketing a Senior Attorney’s Good Will and Subject Matter Knowledge.

3. Senior Attorneys who maintain their Status Quo between Ages 55 - 75 will generate less revenues post-2020 due to losing market share to Growing Law Firms who deploy Multi-Channel Digital Marketing to develop new business.

4. Growing Law Firms welcome Senior Attorneys, together with their key employee lawyer staff, because Growing Law Firms need competent lawyers who already know a Senior Attorney’s clients and the applicable subject matter knowledge.

The Impact of 2020 upon the 4 Components of Value for a Senior Attorney’s Law Practice

In this State of the Market episode, Senior Attorney Match’s Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. and Scott R. Loring, CPCC, address the impact of 2020 upon the 4 Components of Value of a Senior Attorney’s practice.

Key points include:

1. 2020 propelled our society deeper into the Digital Age, which has resulted in Google becoming America’s No. 1 referral source for lawyers.

2. Senior Attorneys, who began their careers during the 1.0 Word of Mouth Era for Business Development now find themselves in the 3.0 Digital Marketing Era, where business development for new clients requires a Multi-Channel Digital Marketing approach.

3. Consumers for legal services will continue migrating to convenience to find lawyers similar to how we all conveniently shop on Amazon, watch our favorite shows/movies on Netflix, workout at home on our Pelotons, and order Ubers rather than wait for taxis. 

4. Growing Law Firms, who continue outpacing Senior Attorneys in the 3.0 Digital Marketing Era for business development, want and need the 4 Components of Value that Senior Attorneys present.

The 4 Reasons Why Internal Successors Offer Limited Potential to Purchase a Senior Attorney’s Law Practice

In this State of the Market episode, Senior Attorney Match’s Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. and Scott R. Loring, CPCC, address the 4 Reasons Why Internal Successors Offer Limited Potential to Purchase a Senior Attorney’s Law Practice:

1. Key employee lawyers will not wake-up one day and convert into becoming business owners.
2. Potential Internal Successors lack business operations experience and the entrepreneurial mindset to own and operate a law practice.
3. Even though key employees maintain the trust of a Senior Attorney’s clients, they do not present the “1 + 1 = 7” Business Development potential that Senior Attorneys deserve.
4. As key employees, Internal Successors lack the capital to purchase a Senior Attorney’s practice.

By comparison, Senior Attorney Match recommends that Senior Attorneys sell their law practices to Growing Law Firms for the following 3 reasons:

1. Growing Law Firms want and need Senior Attorneys, together with key employees
2. Growing Law Firms have the ability to maximize the “1 + 1 = 7” for Business Development opportunities that Senior Attorneys present.
3. Growing Law Firms present the preferred pathway for Senior Attorneys to accomplish their goals of (i) Selling their law practices; (ii) Ensuring long-term representation of their clients by competent, successor counsel; and (iii) Securing long-term employment for their key employee lawyer and administrative staff.

How to Sell a Law Practice Post-2020

In the State of the Market episode, “How to Sell a Law Practice Post-2020,” Senior Attorney Match’s Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. and Scott R. Loring, CPCC, address:

• The 3 Options for Selling a Law Practice Post-2020
• The 4 Components to Valuing a Law Practice
• The Ongoing Shift in Legal Consumer Behavior Post-2020
• The Key Factors that Impact Revenues for Senior Attorneys (Ages 55-75)

Poock and Loring discuss how a Senior Attorney’s “Trust Transfer” of clients and referral sources presents “1 + 1 = 7” business development opportunities to Growing Law Firms.

They also discuss how rising competition for legal services by Growing Law Firms that adopt post-2020 Multi-Channel Digital Marketing strategies will continue impacting new client revenues for Senior Attorneys.

The Importance of Law Firm Integration Consulting during the First 180 Days

In this episode, Margaret Burke of Kolibri Law Support Solutions, discusses the importance of Integration Consulting during the first 30, 60, 90, and 180 days after Senior Attorneys join Growing Law Firms.

Burke, who has previously served as CEO of a mid-sized law firm and holds a MBA, Bachelor of Science in Accounting, and is a Certified Professional Coach, assists law firm leaders with: (i) Law firm management; (ii) Financial management; (iii) Human capital management; (iv) Operations Management; and (v) Sales and marketing management.

As Burke states, “Our goal is to free-up the attorneys so they can focus on what they do best and what they enjoy doing.”

When addressing the benefits of Integration Consulting during the first 180 days, Burke and Poock advise Senior Attorneys and Growing Law Firms as follows:

Days 1 – 30: Focus on “meet-and-greets,” social events, assigning mentors, and explaining new processes to the Senior Attorneys joining a new firm.

Days 30 – 60: Prepare to jointly contact and meet with a Senior Attorney’s clients and referral sources.
As Burke states: “This is also a great time to recognize that perhaps something that was in the original plan [needs] a small adjustment.”

Days 60 – 90: “This is a time to really re-focus, be open, [and] make changes that can be made. If they cannot be made, discuss why,” Burke says.

Days 90 – 180: Here, Poock adds that during Days 90 – 180, the parties learn to trust each other, where they develop that trust by listening and learning from each other.

Addressing the value of an Integration Consultant during the first 180 days, Burke states: “[E]valuation and [the] opportunity for people to meet and discuss things . . . with the help of a third party is critical to move forward and reach the goals that everyone set when they originally decided to join each other.”

Valuing a Law Practice - The Importance of Synergy Value

In this episode, Mark S. Gottlieb, CPA/ABV/CFF, ASA, CVA, CBA, MST of MSG Accountants, Consultants & Business Valuators (www.msgcpa.com) discusses valuing law firms.

In response to the “What is My Law Practice Worth” question, Gottlieb explains that valuing a law practice depends on the size of a practice, namely, a sole proprietorship, a medium-sized firm, or a large law firm.

For small law practices, Gottlieb explains that valuation depends upon the following question: “What is the amount of cash flow available to the owner both before and after officer’s compensation, and what is the risk associated with earning that revenue stream?”

In the context of succession planning for lawyers, Poock points out that Growing Law Firms pay for the value of a Senior Attorney’s practice via fee sharing derived from a Senior Attorney’s clients and referral sources, payable over a defined period of time.

Gottlieb defines that value as: “Synergy Value.”

As Gottlieb states: “Growth is now primarily coming from acquisition, not from organic growth.”