Senior Attorney Match Podcast

Jeremy E. Poock, Esq.
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The Senior Attorney Match Podcast addresses all topics relating to lawyers considering how to sell their law practices, including how to value a law practice, determining the "right" successor, when to start a transition toward retirement, and much more.

  1. Aug 3

    The 2 Reasons Why Senior Attorney Sellers Want Purchasing Law Firms to Win

    In Episode 74 of the State of the Market for Law Firm Sales in 11 Minutes, Senior Attorney Match’s Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. addresses the following: The 2 Reasons Why Senior Attorney Sellers Want Purchasing Law Firms to Win Reason #1 for why Senior Attorney sellers want purchasing law firms to win:   Financial   Considering that most sales of Senior Attorney-led law firms involve earnout payment terms, selling attorneys want a purchasing firm to win because:   The more clients from a selling law firm’s Book of Business that a purchasing firm represents means the greater amount paid to a selling attorney(s) via earnout terms that typically include negotiated fee sharing terms paid during a negotiated number of years.   Reason #2 for why Senior Attorney sellers want purchasing law firms to win:   Legacy   As Poock explains, Sellers want purchasers to win for the following 3 legacy related reasons:   1. Ensuring that clients of a selling law firm will continue to benefit from ongoing, competent and zealous representation.   2. Making sure that the staff of a selling law firm continue to have ongoing employment with a purchasing law firm.   3. The satisfaction of helping a purchasing firm succeed post-sale in terms of:   (i) Adding new clients;   (ii) Welcoming the talented and experienced lawyer and non-lawyer staff of a selling law firm; and   (iii) Benefiting from the subject matter knowledge that a selling attorney(s) has developed over the course of decades.

  2. Jul 27

    Poock’s Post from Ep. 38 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show: The Importance of Bus. Dev. Attribution to Law Firm Sales

    During the Poock’s Post segment of Ep. 38 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show, Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. addresses the following: The Importance of Bus. Dev. Attribution to Law Firm Sales Poock begins by distinguishing between: (a) Bus. Dev. attribution for traditional Rainmaker-led law firms; and (b) Bus. Dev. attribution for post-2020 Digital Rainmaker Law Firms. As Poock explains, Bus. Dev. attribution for traditional Rainmaker-led law firms relates primarily to the Book of Business that 1 or more Rainmaker attorneys developed often during the pre-Google Word-of-Mouth era. Those Books of Business present value to a purchasing law firm, albeit limited to a ceiling of business attributable to the Book of Business. By contrast, as law firms continue transitioning to becoming Digital Rainmaker Law Firms based upon investing in Multi-Channel Digital Marketing (egs. Google, AI, social media, optimized websites, and more), those firms now have measurable Digital Value and Brand Equity whose reach for potential new clients/business extends well beyond the limited scope of a traditional Rainmaker attorney’s Book of Business. As Digital Rainmaker Law Firms continue spending more and more on Multi-Channel Digital Marketing, Poock points out the following: The importance of attributing the sources of digital Bus. Dev. because doing so will show how new clients predictably, reliably, and consistently seek legal services from Digital Rainmaker Law Firms. As Poock states, “[A]ll of that data will increase the value of a Digital Rainmaker Law Firm in terms of a [sales] multiple, whether that is of EBITDA, net profits or other multiples that will continue to develop with law firm sales.”

  3. Jul 20

    Q2 from Ep. 38 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show: How can I help my internal successor understand why business development is essential to owning a law firm?

    During Ep. 38 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show, Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. addresses the following question: I wish that my Internal Successor showed more interest in Bus. Dev. What can I do to explain the importance of Bus. Dev. to owning a law firm? When addressing this question, Poock begins by asking: What's the issue here?   The underlying issue relates to the following:   Who wants and needs to purchase a law firm and who does not?   Even though most law firm sellers would prefer that their internal successors a/k/a key employee attorneys succeed to owning their law firms, in reality, most key employee lawyers do not want to purchase their boss’ small business law firm, and they cannot afford to either. Instead, most key employee lawyers want a Reliable, Predictable, and Safe job.   Rather than focusing on how to explain the importance of Bus. Dev. to key employee lawyers, Poock advises that law firm sellers instead consider their key employee lawyers as key assets of their firms.   Poock also points out that Growing Law Firms want and need the following 3 resources to boost their growth:   (1) New clients;   (2) Experienced and talented lawyers and non-lawyer staff; and   (3) Digital content to attract the attention of today’s and tomorrow’s clients who continue to search online for lawyers and law firms to hire.   Poock then distinguishes between the following:   (a) The 4 winners that result when Senior Attorney-led firms sell to or merge with a Growing Law Firm, namely: (i) The Senior Attorney seller(s) who monetizes their law firm; (ii) Key employee lawyers and support staff who often join a purchasing law firm and win by maintaining their Reliable, Predictable, and Safe jobs; (iii) Clients of a selling law firm who win because they will continue to benefit from ongoing, competent and zealous reputation; and (iv) Growing Law Firms who benefit from instant client growth, enhancing their workforce; and benefiting from receiving literally treasure chests of digital content to attract the attention for potential clients via Multi-Channel Digital Marketing.   (b) Short-Term & Long-Term Negative Impacts of a Random Tuesday Event: Poock explains that when Senior Attorneys wait too long to recognize that their key employee lawyers do not want to purchase their boss’ law firm, those key employee lawyers could wind-up giving them either 2 or 4 weeks notice on a “Random Tuesday” about leaving to join another firm.   In that event, Senior Attorney owners lose revenues in the short-term due to loss of billings and general productivity by a key employee lawyer who unexpectedly departs their firm.  Long-term, their law firms lose value because many law firm purchasers want and need to hire a selling firm’s key employee lawyers and staff to continue representing the clients of a selling law firm.   In conclusion, Poock points out that even though most law firm sellers prefer that their key employee lawyers become better rainmakers in advance of pursuing an internal succession plan, Growing Law Firms typically present a more viable purchaser for their law firms, including their recognition of the following: That key employee lawyers and support staff comprise a major component of a selling law firm’s value.

  4. Jul 14

    Question 1 from Ep. 38 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show: What are the Components to Valuing a Law Firm?

    During Ep. 38 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show, Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. addresses the following question: What are the Components to Valuing a Law Firm? As Poock explains, “When it comes to valuing a law firm, there are 5 key components to the valuation for what a law firm is worth.” Those 5 components consist of the following: (1) Client List (2) Referral Source List (together with the Client List, the “Book of Business”) (3) Key Employee Lawyers & Support Staff (4) Subject Matter Knowledge (5) Digital Value Poock then poses the following 2 questions: (a) Who wants and needs the 5 Components of Value? and (b) What will they pay for it? Distinguishing between internal successors and Growing Law Firms, Poock points out that Growing Law Firms want and need the 5 Components of Value that a selling law firm offers because the 5 Components of Value compliment the following 3 resources that Growing Law Firms need: (1) More clients (2) Talented lawyers and support staff; and (3) Digital content Regarding how much a Growing Law Firm will pay for the 5 Components of Value, Poock explains the following 2 law firm sale structures: (1) Law Firm Sales 1.0 in which a seller’s value primarily relates to its Book of Business (client list & referral source), where the financial terms typically involve an earnout pegged to collections derived by a purchasing law firm from a selling law firm’s Book of Business during a negotiated period of time; and (2) Law Firm Sales 2.0, which involves a fixed price, plus earnout terms, where the fixed price derives from the predictability of client originations attributable a selling law firm’s Digital Value and Brand Equity.

  5. Jun 22

    Question 1 from Ep. 37 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show: I found a Buyer for my law firm, but we have not agreed upon terms yet. What do you recommend?

    During Ep. 37 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show, Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. addresses the following question: I found a Buyer for my law firm, but we have not agreed upon terms yet. What do you recommend? At the outset, Poock clarifies the scope of the question to apply to Small Business Law Firms, typically owned by 1 or more founders. Poock next distinguishes between why sellers typically have difficulty agreeing upon terms with either of  the following 2 types of purchasers:   (a) Internal successors; and   (b) Growing Law Firm purchasers.   Regarding internal successors, Poock explains the following as typical reasons for why negotiations stall:   Most internal successor prefer remaining as key employee lawyers because of their concerns about the following risks associated with purchasing their boss’ law firm: (i) Risk of decreased originations after the firm’s founding Rainmaker(s) retire; (ii) Risk of not affording to pay a purchase price; (iii) A need to work even harder; (iv) A worsening work-life balance; (v) Personal financial risk associated with guarantying an office lease and bank credit line; and (vi) Risk of key employees departing the firm.   Based upon those risks, key employee lawyers often stall negotiating purchase terms, followed by, at some point, sharing their preference to remain as an employee, rather than an owner of their boss’ law firm.   Poock then explains the following typical reasons for why negotiations stall between selling law firms and Growing Law Firm purchasers: (i) Discomfort with asking difficult questions during due diligence; (ii) Not necessarily knowing terms to include in a letter of intent, offer, or similar document; and (iii) Difficulty negotiating financial terms with a buyer who is often a colleague or friendly competitor.   As a cure to such stalled negotiations, Poock shares the following advice:   That the parties consider engaging a deal intermediary to facilitate completing due diligence, negotiating purchase terms, and preparing an agreement.   Here’s why:   The value of a deal intermediary includes: (i) Asking difficult questions to a seller and a buyer, including financial questions, experience level questions, post-Closing role questions, and more; (ii) Sharing the answers to difficult questions with each party, together with assisting the parties to remain focused on reaching deal terms; (iii) Facilitating the negotiation of deal terms; and (iv) Assisting with drafting deal terms into a Letter of Intent, followed by an agreement.   So, when a selling law firm and a purchasing law firm become “stuck in the mud” with reaching terms, a deal intermediary can provide the value needed to assist the parties with completing due diligence, facilitating negotiations, and reaching a win-win agreement.

  6. Jun 18

    Question 2 from Ep. 37 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show: Why do purchasing law firms need to hire the lawyers and support staff of a selling law firm?

    During Ep. 37 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show, Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. addresses the following question: Why do purchasing law firms need to hire the lawyers and support staff of a selling law firm? As Poock explains, “There's really four reasons why purchasing law firms need the lawyers and support staff from a selling law firm, and it's broken down into two categories. The first two needs relate to the clients of a selling law firm, and the second two needs [relate] to the clients of a purchasing law firm.   Regarding the first category, as it relates to the clients of a selling law firm, Poock explains that the lawyers and support of a selling law firm fulfill the following 2 needs of a purchasing law firm:   1. Continue representing the clients who comprise the Book of Business that a selling law firm presents to a purchasing law firm; and   2. Facilitate the post-sale “Trust Transfer” of the clients of a selling law firm to the lawyers and support staff of the purchasing law firm.   Regarding the second category, as it relates to the clients of a purchasing law firm, Poock points out the following:   1. As today’s Growing Law Firms continue to generate new clients digitally, they need talented lawyers and support staff to provide high quality legal services to those clients, which the experienced lawyers and support staff of a selling law firm can provide, often with minimal, additional training.   2. In addition to needing talented and experienced lawyers and support staff, Growing Law Firms need a stable workforce, which lawyers and support staff from a selling law firm provide because they have a similar need for stability in the form of needing to maintain a reliable, predictable, and safe job.   Taken together, purchasing law firms need the lawyers and support staff of a selling law firm to: (a) Ensure maintaining relationships with the clients of a selling law firm; and (b) Increase the talent pool at a purchasing law firm to provide top notch legal services to clients whom a purchasing firm self-originates, often via digital marketing in today’s Digital Era for the legal industry.

  7. Jun 8

    The 4.5 Reasons Why MSOs Have Arrived to the Legal Industry

    In Episode 72 of the State of the Market for Law Firm Sales in 11 Minutes, Senior Attorney Match’s Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. addresses the following: The 4.5 Reasons Why MSOs Have Arrived to the Legal Industry      During the course of Ep. 72, Poock explains the following reasons why Management Services Organizations (MSOs) have arrived to the legal industry in the mid-2020s.   Reason No. 1: Today’s clients search for lawyers online   Reason No. 2: The emergence of Digital Rainmaker law firms   Reason No. 3: Today’s lawyers want a Reliable, Predictable & Safe Job   Reason No. 3.5: Legal Tech delivers better work-life balance for today’s lawyers   Reason No. 4: Opportunities for Profits & Exits

  8. Jun 1

    Question 3 from Ep. 36 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show: What is a Law Firm to Law Firm Sale?

    During Ep. 36 of the Ask the Law Firm Seller Show, Jeremy E. Poock, Esq. addresses the following question: What is a Law Firm to Law Firm Sale? As Poock explains, “The predominant sales of law firms continue to be Law Firm to Law Firm sales.”   Typically, Law Firm to Law Firm sales involve the following:   The sale or merger of law firms lead by Senior Attorney founders to Growing Law Firms who seek the following 3 resources that selling law firms offer:   Clients for whom Senior Attorney sellers offer their Books of Business, which they have often developed over the course of decades.   An experienced workforce, consisting of talented attorneys and non-attorney staff who want and need a reliable, predictable, and safe job.   Subject matter knowledge in multiple practice areas, whose utility includes the following: Content for digital marketing to attract the attention of today’s clients who search online for lawyers and law firms to retain.   Poock also shares the following 2 typical components to Law Firm to Law Firm Sales:   (a) Earnout Purchase Terms: In most Law Firm to Law Firm sales, payment terms involve earnouts based upon the owner(s) of a selling law firm receiving a percentage of collections attributable to a selling law firm’s Book of Business, payable over a negotiated period of time.   (b) The Importance of Trust Transfer: To maximize earnout payments, sellers need to transfer the trust of their long-time clients to lawyers at a purchasing law firm.   As Poock, states, “The importance of Trust Transfer . . . cannot be underscored. When a law firm sale happens, the seller should really have an expectation that the purchasing firm is going to need the selling Rainmaker Attorney or attorneys to transfer the trust of the clients to lawyers at the growing firm. And then, the consideration is fee sharing over a negotiated period of time.”

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About

The Senior Attorney Match Podcast addresses all topics relating to lawyers considering how to sell their law practices, including how to value a law practice, determining the "right" successor, when to start a transition toward retirement, and much more.

Information

  • Creator
    Jeremy E. Poock, Esq.
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2020 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Senior Attorney Match Podcast