The Ethics of Buying or Selling a Law Practice

The NC State Bar has issued an opinion outlining the ethical responsibilities of lawyers who are retiring or phasing out of practice.

Read, print or download NC Formal Ethics Opinion 1 here.

A companion guide is the Lawyers Mutual publication, “Buying or Selling a Law Practice,” which you can read, print or download here.

“A law office is the product of your life’s work,” writes Tom Lenfestey, owner of the Law Practice Exchange and author of the Lawyers Mutual publication. “A law office can also be difficult to establish in today’s economy. Like all ventures, there is value attached to an existing law office – it is just a matter of bringing buyers and sellers together to work out what is that value.”

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Buying or Selling a Law Practice: A Risk Management Guide

Below are excerpts from the Lawyers Mutual publication, Buying or Selling a Law Practice: A Risk Management Guide:

• Your law practice is an investment. “If you are a partner or owner of a law firm, you have invested your time, talent, energy, and money into your practice. You should be able to receive a return on your investment, which will help you in the next phase of your life. If you are an attorney or firm looking to establish a new law office – whether it is to establish your own practice or to expand your footprint to a new area – purchasing an existing law office can provide you with the goodwill and trained staff to help you hit the ground running without the investment of trying to start from nothing in a new area.”
• Live the dream. “Many lawyers dream of transitioning away from their law practice. Retirement, family, a new career, or some other pursuit comes calling. But the typical question that holds many lawyers back is, ‘how can I afford to live without the income and resources from my practice?’”
• The sales option. “Few attorneys actually consider the option of selling a practice as the precursor to that next step or even know that doing so is an option. Selling a practice can be a great way to benefit from the value built up over years of work.”
• Having a plan. “Every lawyer at some point in time needs a plan for when he or she steps away from the legal field and the options for buying or selling a law practice should be considered. Thanks to life’s multitude of unexpected events, that time may be sooner than you think.”

SOURCE: Buying or Selling a Law Practice, A Risk Management Guide

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