Blog

Buying a Law Practice: Not as Risky or Complicated as You Think

April 2nd, 2021
Purchasing another lawyer’s practice is fast becoming a popular and more common way to grow or diversify one’s law firm. There are three main reasons for this: ... Read More
Categories: Blog, Selling Your Practice

Working Part-Time Before Retiring From Your Law Practice

March 11th, 2021
For reasons that escape me, many people in the legal profession believe the practice of law is not amenable to working part-time. While this issue usually arises for new parents, part-time work is also a great option for senior solo and small law firm attorneys to consider before they completely exit the profession. Read More ... Read More
Categories: Blog, Legal Career Counseling

Paying a Premium for a “System”

February 1st, 2021
Appraising a law firm requires assessing numerous factors. During the appraisal process, some attorneys will say to me something along the lines of, “In my law firm, I’ve got this great system that can…. That alone should be worth…” The marketplace for law firms doesn’t work like that, however. Here’s why. ... Read More
Categories: Blog, Selling Your Practice

An Overlooked Obstacle to Succession Planning

January 4th, 2021
Law firm succession planning is certainly getting its share of attention these days. It makes sense, too, considering one-third of the attorney population will be made up of boomer lawyers (those 65 years of age or older) within the next 10 years. ... Read More
Categories: Retirement/Succession

Don’t Be Afraid to Raise Your Legal Fees

December 8th, 2020
It’s getting to be that time of year when lawyers decide whether to raise their hourly rates or fixed fees when the new year begins. I suspect that many will fear doing so in the middle of a pandemic. Others always seem fearful of increasing legal fees, pandemic or no pandemic. My advice — with very limited exceptions — is to go for it. Clients are never as price-sensitive as you think. ... Read More
Categories: Blog, Business Development, Practice Management

Assessing a Law Firm’s Revenue: All Is Not Created Equally

November 2nd, 2020
One of my truisms for valuing a law practice is that “all revenue is not created equally.” For example, revenue that stems from past clients or one’s referral network is far more valuable than the revenue generated from seminars or webinars. ... Read More
Categories: Blog, Selling Your Practice

Succession Planning Challenges? Don’t Let Them Hold You Back.

October 8th, 2020
With Baby Boomers retiring left and right, law firm leaders everywhere are talking about succession planning. Yet, much like the weather, no one seems to be doing much about it. Legal consultants Altman Weil report that only 31% of its surveyed law firms had formal policies in place. ALM Legal Intelligence puts the number at 33%. ... Read More
Categories: Retirement/Succession

Your Competition Is Lazy: Three Things Small Law Firms Can Do to Find New Business Now

September 21st, 2020
Thomson Reuters recently completed its fourth State of U.S. Small Law Firms survey. The findings were summarized here on Attorney at Work. That post’s title, “Small Law Firms Still Struggling With Finding New Business and Managing Administrative Tasks,” accurately reflects the overall state of the world of small law firms. ... Read More
Categories: Practice Management

Reassessing When to Retire During a Pandemic

September 8th, 2020
Deciding when to retire, now more than ever, has become a moving target. In the best of times, it’s never a simple decision. Lots of variables to consider and assumptions to make. But with Covid-19, past careful thinking for many has been thrown to the wayside. Pundits galore have been making predictions about Covid-19’s impact on retirement. Here’s one more. ... Read More
Categories: Retirement/Succession

Does Passion Equal Happiness on the Job?

August 3rd, 2020
During these pandemic days, everyone seems to be reevaluating many aspects of life, including career options. Have you recently wished you were more “passionate” about your work? And if you were, would it make a difference about how you felt about your career? ... Read More
Categories: Legal Career Counseling, Legal Careers, Practice Management

What Can Law Firm Sellers Ethically Do During a Transition?

July 13th, 2020
Rule 1.17 of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct states that after a sale, sellers must “cease to engage in the private practice of law.” Does that mean you must hand over the keys, walk out the door, and immediately ride off into retirement sunset? And if the answer is yes, how is that realistically possible? ... Read More
Categories: Selling Your Practice

Practice Makes Perfect, Even When Planning for Retirement

June 8th, 2020
You should “practice retirement.” According to the 2018 Global Retirement Reality Report, only about half of Americans are happy in retirement even with financial security. If more retirees would have practiced retirement before retiring, the number of happy retirees would increase substantially. ... Read More
Categories: Retirement/Succession

Is Strategic Planning Relevant in the Covid-19 Age?

May 14th, 2020
Strategic planning provides a framework to make choices about how your law firm allocates its resources to maintain and improve upon its success. Yes, I know many of you are probably thinking, “We’re still fine-tuning how to get work done from home and the best ways to interact with clients. I can’t plan beyond a few days ahead, let alone a few years.” ... Read More
Categories: Practice Management

Hypocrisy and Selfishness Abound When Failing to Plan for Succession

April 15th, 2020
If there was ever a wake-up call for solo and small law firm owners to create their succession plans, it is now. COVID-19 is a serious health risk that, as I write, is showing no signs of when it will go away. ... Read More
Categories: Retirement/Succession

COVID-19 Impacts for Solo and Small Firm Lawyers: Beyond Remote Work

April 6th, 2020
If you’re like me, you’re probably tired of getting email blasts about how to best work remotely. There is much more to this COVID-19 situation, from your law practice perspective, than remote work. If you practice in the solo and small firm world, here’s my take on a few other important things to consider in the pandemic age. ... Read More
Categories: Practice Management

Underbilling? Not Recording Time? There’s No Excuse!

March 17th, 2020
Over the years, I’ve heard my share of stories about attorneys who have failed to properly record their time. You know what I mean. Finishing a task and then intentionally recording less time than what you actually spent on the task. Or, alternatively, simply forgetting to enter your time (e.g., phone conversations in the car). ... Read More
Categories: Practice Management

Recruiting Your Successor (Promising Premise, Perilous in Practice)

February 6th, 2020
One retirement exit strategy often considered by solo practitioners and small law firm owners is the "recruit your successor" one. The idea behind this strategy is to find a young, inexperienced lawyer who is then groomed to take over the practice. ... Read More
Categories: Retirement/Succession

If There’s a Will, There’s a Way: Comparing Succession Planning to Estate Planning

January 7th, 2020
I was recently reading the business section of my local newspaper and came across an article on the importance of having a will. The focus of the article was on how to prevent people from delaying getting the task accomplished. The writer asked several financial planners for the best strategies they use to help their clients complete this task. ... Read More
Categories: Retirement/Succession

Law Firm Revenues Down? Stop Blaming the Competition.

December 3rd, 2019
Lawyers are quick to blame the competition when challenged about why their firm’s revenues are not better. Before you keep on with the finger-pointing, you might want to stop and assess how your firm performs in light of some of the findings from the latest Clio Legal Trends Report. ... Read More
Categories: Business Development

Finding Buyers for Your Law Practice

November 11th, 2019
There are a variety of ways to find buyers. Some attorneys try to do it on their own. From a DIY perspective, usually the best ways to get the word out that you’re looking for a buyer are through networking and advertising. Others who don’t want to take the time and effort to find buyers on their own rely on consultants and brokers. Besides saving time, using outside experts provides other advantages from the DIY method. They include: ... Read More
Categories: Selling Your Practice
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I have a niche practice at a small unconventional law firm and found myself at a crossroad in my legal career. The choice was to either stay where I am, go solo, or join a national firm with a well-established presence in my niche. Lots of pros and c…" Read the rest
– Partner, small Chicago, IL law firm
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Blog Index

Buying a Law Practice: Not as Risky or Complicated as You Think
Working Part-Time Before Retiring From Your Law Practice
Paying a Premium for a “System”
An Overlooked Obstacle to Succession Planning
Don’t Be Afraid to Raise Your Legal Fees
Assessing a Law Firm’s Revenue: All Is Not Created Equally
Succession Planning Challenges? Don’t Let Them Hold You Back.
Your Competition Is Lazy: Three Things Small Law Firms Can Do to Find New Business Now
Reassessing When to Retire During a Pandemic
Does Passion Equal Happiness on the Job?
What Can Law Firm Sellers Ethically Do During a Transition?
Practice Makes Perfect, Even When Planning for Retirement
Is Strategic Planning Relevant in the Covid-19 Age?
Hypocrisy and Selfishness Abound When Failing to Plan for Succession
COVID-19 Impacts for Solo and Small Firm Lawyers: Beyond Remote Work

See our complete Blog Index.

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