Tips & Trends

Keeping current with the law industry is pertinent.  Boyer Greene, LLC wants to keep you informed about the latest trends happening within law firms across the nation plus offer tips to further enhance success in your firm.  If you have questions, please fill out the form on this page and either Sandy or Arthur will be more than happy to personally contact you for discussion.

March 2010

TIPS

Checklist for Partnership Agreements

Regardless of whether your firm is a partnership, a professional association or a limited liability entity, the structural and operational documentation should include the provisions which cover the following:

  • Process of adding new partner
  • Any capital or buy-in requirement for new partners
  • Issues which require a supermajority vote of the partners
  • Management structure
  • Method of profit distribution
  • Obligations of the firm upon the retirement of a partner
  • Process for determining and the obligations of the firm to a disabled partner
  • Obligations of the firm upon the death of a partner
  • Duties and responsibilities to the firm of a withdrawing partner
  • Process and the potential reasons for expulsion of a partner
  • Obligations of the partners on dissolution of the firm
The agreement should provide a framework with flexibility which plans for growth and which anticipates bad events.  Its primary purpose is to protect the firm.  Too often, critical provisions are overlooked, which can result in disabling controversies or litigation.

    TRENDS

    We are seeing a number of small firms looking to be acquired by a larger firm, or merged with another small firm.  In what appears to be an extended recession, firms are looking to make strategic decisions to improve their future.  For some firms, a merger or acquisition can position them to do better in the years ahead.  Those that succeed are the ones based on combining the strengths of each firm to achieve a more robust new firm.  However, the simple merging of two struggling law firms may do no more than create a larger firm with continuing problems.  Mergers and acquisitions must be entered into for the right reasons.    

    Do You Know...

    ...A mark of success for any growing firm, no matter the size, is the extent to which a Firm strategically plans and sets both short and long term goals for its future?
    Creating a roadmap, including the development of a vision for the future, agreeing upon a growth strategy, promoting emerging practice areas, developing innovative pricing strategies, encouraging career plans consistent with the firm’s future, developing profit distribution techniques that promote desired behaviors, creating income and expense budgets and ensuring a workable succession planning are critical to the firm’s success in an increasingly competitive environment. The components of such a roadmap should form the basis for an all day or weekend retreat session.