Senior Attorney Match Podcast

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.”

The Role of Life Insurance in Succession Planning for Lawyers

In this episode, David F. Keefe III, CLU, ChFC (linkedin.com/in/davidfkeefe) of 4-Point Financial (www.4-pointfinancial.com) addresses the role of life insurance in succession planning for lawyers. As a life insurance advisor who specializes in understanding the value of Human Capital, David addresses the importance of life insurance for: (i) Law firm partners as business owners; (ii) Senior Attorneys who join Growing Law Firms per a term of years earnout; and (iii) Senior Attorneys who do not yet have a successor and for whom life insurance can serve as a phantom buyer. As Poock points out, attorneys who have not fulfilled a succession plan yet should especially consider including life insurance as part of their business planning strategy.

The Opportunities That Client & Referral Source Lists Present to Growing Law Firms

In this episode, Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. and Jared D. Correia, Esq., Founder and CEO of Red Cave Law Firm Consulting (www.redcavelegal.com), discuss the importance and opportunities attributable to a Senior Attorney’s client list and referral source list. As Poock explains, valuing a law practice consists of 4 elements (a) Client list; (b) Referral Source list; (c) Good Will; and (d) Subject matter knowledge. Correia, who has consulted with 4,000+ law firms to become more effective businesses, points out that client lists present tangible, business generation opportunities to Growing Law Firms. Correia also explains best practices for managing client and referral source lists, including (1) Housing the client and referral source lists within marketing automation services (egs. CRM software, Mailchimp, etc.); (2) Establishing marketing and re-marketing protocols; and (3) Tracking responsiveness to marketing campaigns.

Top 5 Reasons Why a Commercial Lease Should Not Delay Succession Planning for Senior Attorneys

In this episode, Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. and Scott Loring address the top 5 reasons why a commercial lease should not delay succession planning for Senior Attorneys: (1) Avoid the “Sunk Cost Fallacy,” which Loring defines for listeners as when we continue an action because of our past decisions, rather than a rational choice of what will maximize our utility at this present time; (2) Recognize that a “Random Tuesday Event” could occur before the end of the lease term; (3) A successor may have interest to assume the lease; (4) Options for mitigation; and (5) The risks that maintaining the Status Quo presents to the value of a Senior Attorney’s practice. Poock also points out that Growing Law Firms view a Senior Attorney’s commercial lease as a cost of doing business. In the context of the influx of clients and referral sources that a Senior Attorney’s practice presents, Growing Law Firms often say, “Please, put that on the table for us to discuss and negotiate.”

Episode 23: 2 of 2: For Sale by Owner (FSBO) - Perspectives from Two National Leaders in Business Brokerage

In Part Two of the FSBO episode, business brokers, Gary Rayberg, President of ROI Corporation (www.roibusinessbrokers.com) and Cress V. Diglio, Managing Partner of Calder Associates (www.calderassociates.com), address FSBO’s in the context of: (i) A friendly competitor; and (2) An internal sale. When considering a friendly competitor, Diglio and Rayberg explain how a business broker can expedite the sale process, as well as identify when a friendly competitor lacks a genuine interest to purchase the Seller’s business, or worse, may seek a Seller’s competitive information. Poock adds that introducing additional buyers for a Seller to consider beyond a familiar, friendly competitor also provides value to Sellers. For internal sales, Poock explains the value of structuring, valuing, and serving as an emotional buffer that intermediaries provide. As Diglio points out, business brokers who structure internal sales deliver a “feel good story all the way around” by achieving the sale of a Seller’s business to a key employee or family member who can continue running the company.