Succession Planning Part 2: Who are my buyers?

We are commonly asked by our clients looking to exit their legal practice “who are my buyers?”

We have found that currently purchasers are typically falling into 1 of the following 4 categories:

1. An established local firm – These purchasers are looking to either reduce the amount of direct competition in their area or expand their practice by bolting on additional revenue.

2. An interstate or regional law firm – These purchasers are looking to expand into Melbourne.  Of late most of the enquiry to our office is coming from high performing smaller interstate law firms who are currently servicing clients in Victoria and are looking to acquire a small to mid size Victorian law firm to better service their Victorian clients by having a presence on the ground.

3. A first time purchaser – These purchasers are younger lawyers looking to start their own practice by stepping into a law firm with an established client base and revenue.  

These purchasers are experienced lawyers who have contemplated starting their own law firm but have decided they do not want to start a law firm from zero.   These purchasers are not actively looking because they are typically employed full time, however because of our unique position in the market as legal recruitment consultants we connect with this market on a daily basis, and such purchasers list their details with us to be kept aware of the right law firm for their budget and skill set.

4.Newly admitted mature aged lawyers – This is a new market that has arisen as a result of the numerous amount of law graduates coming out of the tertiary institutions.

Being mature aged lawyers they have typically come from a former career and therefore have built some capital base behind them before completing their law degree, and they are utilizing this financial advantage to invest in a law firm conditional upon the vendor of the law firm agreeing to supervise them for 2 years post settlement, so they can overcome the 2-year supervised practice requirement of their practicing certificate and also gain valuable legal experience from an experienced practitioner.

If you would like more information about selling your practice please contact John Castello on 0407 112 612 or email john@gatehouselegal.com.au.

Further information about law firm sales can be found here.

You may also be interested reading about: Succession Planning Part 1: What are my options to exit?