What Happens to Those Cases that I Am Personally Handling? Does the Buyer Automatically Take Those Over?

That will depend. Some sellers choose to work for the buyer and wind down their existing caseload. Those who want to be done handling client matters will do their best to convince the client to go with a lawyer at the buyer’s firm. Remember, the client always has the choice of which lawyer to work with. That is usually easier than one might think, since for most clients, working with a successor is the path of least resistance compared with finding another lawyer.

How Do I Know Whether a Future Potential Client Would Work with A Successor?

If you, as the owner, have been successful in delegating work to other lawyers at the firm, chances are good that future clients will work with a successor. If handing off work to others has been a problem, future clients are less likely to work with a successor.

The Name of My Law Firm only Has My Last Name Contained in It? Does that Impact Its Value?

It shouldn’t. What matters is not the firm’s name but whether potential clients are willing to work with a successor.

What Is Unique About Selling a Family Law Practice?

The key question is whether a potential client would work with a successor after your law firm sells, since it is the referral network or the goodwill that is the crucial asset being sold. If the potential client calls and wants you and only you, the goodwill is too personal, and the practice may have minimal value. However, if a client wants someone from the law firm, that is known as practice goodwill and has value.

How does one distinguish among the different types of goodwill? The answer is more straightforward than one might think. Have the firm’s new clients insisted on retaining the owner, or have they been willing to work with other attorneys at the firm? The former law firm has minimal value, whereas the latter may have substantial value.