In short: you sell a minority stake in your firm to an attorney licensed in your state. You stay the majority owner and keep practicing. A services team handles marketing, intake, administration and technology, under your direction. You also hold equity in the platform as it grows.
Who this is for
You own and run an elder law, estate planning or probate firm on Long Island, in Westchester, in the five boroughs or in northern New Jersey. Most firms on this path have roughly $750K to $3M in annual revenue and one to five attorneys.
You enjoy the work. You'd like to spend less time running an office. And you'd like a succession plan in place long before you need it.
What you get
- Liquidity. You're paid for part of what you've built, without selling all of it or stepping away.
- A services team. Marketing, intake, billing and administration, technology and hiring support, handled for the practice.
- Equity in the platform. How much, and on what terms, is set out in writing.
- A plan for later. When you're ready to step back, the conversation about retiring is already open.
What stays yours
- Ownership. You remain the majority owner. The minority stake is held by an attorney licensed in your state, never by Laurel Way Partners, another company or an outside investor.
- Your clients. You keep the client relationships, and files and original documents stay with your firm.
- Your professional judgment. Legal decisions stay with lawyers. The services team handles the business side and never directs legal work.
- Your name on the door and your staff. The firm keeps its name, and the people who know your clients stay on.
What the services team takes off your desk
- Marketing. Your website, search listings, reviews and materials for referral sources. You approve anything that speaks for the firm.
- Intake. Answering new inquiries and scheduling consultations. You decide who becomes a client, and only lawyers give legal advice.
- Billing and administration. Invoicing, collections, bookkeeping support and office operations. Trust accounts and fee decisions stay with the lawyers.
- Technology. Practice software, digital file storage, phones and security, set up and kept running. Client files stay under your firm's control.
- Hiring support. Recruiting paralegals, staff and associates. You decide who joins, and your lawyers train and supervise anyone doing legal work.
Financing and fees
With a mix of bank financing and seller participation, such as part of the price paid to you over time. The terms are set in writing after the practice has been reviewed together, under an NDA. How the services team is paid for is set out in the same written terms.
You pay no fee to talk, to share information under an NDA, or to close. Your own lawyer and accountant should review the terms.
How a conversation works
- A confidential call. A first conversation about your practice and what you want next. Nothing to prepare.
- 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.
- Fit. A look at the practice together, and a plain answer on whether partnering makes sense.
- Structure. The size of the stake, the services and the financing, all in writing.
- Close. Documents are signed and the services team starts work.
Six to twelve months is typical from the first call to closing.
Thinking about retiring instead? Read about retiring on your timeline. More answers are in the FAQ.