Selling a Niche Practice

Presenter: Cynthia Sharp, Esquire

Length: 60 - 90 minutes

Attorneys invest years of hard work into their practice and upon retirement simply walk away, not even attempting to sell what took a lifetime to build. Over the last few decades, many lawyers have accepted the application of business and marketing principles in the context of a law practice. However, the concept of selling a practice in much the same way that other businesses are sold remains foreign and seemingly unattainable to much of the legal profession. It’s all a matter of adopting a mindset that a law practice is in fact a business with value and then working smart AND hard to maximize that value. The following topics will be covered in this session:

• Key Steps to Building a Practice to Sell
• Making a Plan While Making Money
• Assembling a Team
• Finding a Buyer
• Valuation of Practice
• Negotiating Points to Consider
• Pitfalls to Avoid
• Compliance with MRPC 1.17

Cindy is a contributor to the upcoming Second Edition of The Lawyer’s Guide to Buying, Merging, and Closing a Law Practice (2nd ed.) to be published by the Solo, Small Firm and General Practice Division and the Senior Lawyers Division of the American Bar Association. The chapter authored by her - “Selling a Niche Practice” - is the basis of this presentation.

© Cynthia Sharp. Sharp Talk, LLC.