Selling a law firm

There are all sorts of reasons why the time might feel right for you to sell your law firm. Whatever your motivation, our team can support you throughout the process, from finding a suitable buyer to collecting any earn-out payments.

Typically, we act as your lead advisor, but we can also take on the role of a head negotiator or even an impartial honest broker if needed.

There are a lot of things to consider when selling a law firm, and it can be difficult to manage all the stages of the process on your own.

Together, we will:

  • Market review and approach
  • Evaluate your reasons for selling and review any possible alternatives.
  • Build a longlist, and then a shortlist, of firms who may wish to acquire.
  • Make the first anonymous approaches on your behalf.
  • Value your firm and develop a range of possible deal structures.
Legal and due diligence
  • Produce necessary legal documents such as NDAs, heads of terms and business purchase agreements.
  • Advise on employment matters, property ownership and the position of partners, whether they’ll be leaving or staying.
  • Manage extensive due diligence checks on both sides.
  • Negotiate key areas to minimise any possible risk.
  • Consider funding and payment terms.
  • Explore tax issues from both points of view.
  • Decide how to best arbitrage any available tax breaks.
  • Advise on any regulatory and compliance issues, including successor practice rules ABSs for external funders and assigning CFAs.
Deal structure and negotiation
  • Determine the most beneficial way to structure the deal.
  • Assess the relative merits of the allocation of the purchase price, whether that’s upfront, on deferred terms, retained equity or earn-outs.
  • Negotiate a strong deal for you.
  • Identify any deal breakers.
  • Tell you when to walk away, if necessary.
Post-deal implementation
  • Ensure we’ve achieved a good cultural fit.
  • Enable you to leave your firm, staff and clients in good hands.

Are you considering selling a law firm? If you think you’d benefit from some expert assistance, let’s chat about how we could help.