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As we have explored throughout this series, the sale of a law practice is now ethically permissible in New York. Rule 1.17 of the Rules of Professional Conduct expressly allows lawyers to sell a practice, including goodwill. Yet despite that change, relatively few small and suburban firm owners actually sell their firms. Instead, many attorneys simply close their doors when they retire. That raises an obvious question. Why is nobody selling their practice? Part of the answer

As we continue our discussion of succession planning, one theme consistently rises to the surface. Clients, not contracts or valuations, ultimately determine whether a transition succeeds. A firm may have strong financials and a well-structured plan, but if clients do not stay, much of that value disappears. At the outset, it is important to remember a basic ethical principle. Clients are free to choose their attorney. They cannot be compelled to remain with a firm, and t

As we have seen in our discussions of succession, the single biggest obstacle is often not money or clients, but people. For suburban and small firms, the challenge of hiring quality lawyers is especially acute. In many smaller markets, candidates are reluctant to leave the higher salaries and perceived prestige of large Manhattan or Westchester firms. Geography plays a role, too, as commuting to Rockland can be difficult. As a result, small Rockland firms often find them

As we have explored in prior columns, when thinking about how to exit, lawyers nearing retirement should add the possibility of selling...

With my continuing focus on building my law firm’s value, I think it’s important to know how that value will be calculated. During our...

In our continuing series about law firm exit planning, we have explored some alternatives already - - lateral firm movement and internal...

In our continuing discussion of law firm exit planning, we turn to the idea of internal successors. Having an internal successor could be...