Laurel Way Partners

New York metro area and northern New Jersey

Your practice. Your clients. A partner who'll still be there.

We partner with elder law, estate planning and probate firms across the New York area and northern New Jersey. Liquidity for owners who want to keep practicing, and a structured handoff for owners ready to retire.

I want to keep practicing I'm ready to retire

Two ways to work together

I.

Partner and keep practicing

For owners who love the work but want help with the business side.

  • Sell a minority stake to an attorney licensed in your state, for liquidity now.

  • Keep running the practice and your client relationships.

  • A services team handles marketing, intake, administration and technology, under your direction.

  • Hold equity in the platform as it grows.

How partnering works →

II.

Retire on your timeline

For owners ready to step back who want their clients well looked after.

  • A fair purchase by an attorney licensed in your state, structured under the professional rules that govern the sale of a law practice.

  • Your staff kept on.

  • A structured handoff, planned with you.

  • Clients cared for by lawyers who will still be there when their plans are used.

How retiring works →

What stays the same

I.

Your name on the door.

The firm keeps the name your clients and referral sources know, as the professional rules allow.

II.

Your clients.

The families you've planned for can stay with the firm they know, and their files and original documents are kept with care. Choosing a lawyer is always their right.

III.

Your professional judgment.

Legal decisions stay with lawyers. The services team handles the business side and never directs legal work.

IV.

Your staff.

The people who know your clients and your files are part of what you've built, and the plan is to keep them on.

The services team

What we take off your desk

The business of running a firm, handled for you, so you can spend your time with clients.

Who this is for

What we look for

Practice
Elder law, estate planning, and probate and trust administration
Size
Roughly $750K–$3M in annual revenue
Attorneys
One to five
Where
Long Island, Westchester, the five boroughs and northern New Jersey
  • A long-standing client base, with original wills and other documents stored at the firm.
  • Referral relationships with financial advisors, CPAs or care managers.
  • Strong reviews from clients and their families.
  • Clean books and careful trust accounting.
  • An owner who cares what happens to their clients next.

How a conversation works

From first call to close, six to twelve months is typical.

  1. 1

    A confidential call

    A first conversation about your practice and what you want next. Nothing to prepare.

  2. 2

    An NDA

    A nondisclosure agreement is signed before any detailed information about your practice changes hands. Client confidences are shared only as the professional rules allow.

  3. 3

    Fit

    A look at the practice together, and a plain answer on whether it's a match and which path makes sense.

  4. 4

    Structure

    Terms in writing, including how you're paid: usually bank financing plus seller participation, such as part of the price paid over time.

  5. 5

    Close

    Documents are signed, and the transition begins on the schedule you agreed.

Questions owners ask

Who will own my firm?

Your firm stays attorney-owned. If you keep practicing, you remain the majority owner. The minority stake is held by an attorney licensed in your state, never by a company or an outside investor. If you retire, the practice is sold to an attorney licensed in your state, under the rules on selling a law practice.

Do I have to stop practicing?

Not if you choose to partner. You keep running the practice and your client relationships. If you choose to retire, the rules on selling a law practice generally require you to stop practicing privately in the area. The handoff is planned around your timeline.

Is this confidential?

Yes. An NDA is signed before any detailed review of your practice, and nothing about the conversation is made public. Your staff, clients and referral sources hear about it only when you decide they should. If you retire and sell your practice, the rules require notice of the sale, including written notice to each client.

Do you charge sellers anything?

No. There's no fee to talk, to share information under an NDA, or to close. If you partner, what the firm pays for the services team, if anything, is separate from the sale and set out in writing before you commit. You'll want your own lawyer and accountant, and their fees are yours.

What if I'm not ready yet?

That's fine. Many owners start talking a year or more before they decide anything, and a first call costs nothing.

More questions and answers →

Start a confidential conversation

Tell us a little about your practice. You'll hear back within two business days, and nothing you share goes to anyone else without an NDA.

Not sure which path fits? That's a good place to start.

Only your name and email are required. Share as much or as little as you like.

Practice mix (check all that apply)

Privacy: what you send is used only to reply to you and to see whether a conversation makes sense. Apart from the form or email service that carries it, it isn't shared with anyone else without an NDA.