I suspect that most of the law firms do not receive offers for their asking prices or anywhere near it. But, many will end up training and grooming new lawyers for the possibility of a buy out over time based upon the earning of the practice.

My oldest daughter had a number of offers after law school. But, ultimately she chose a small boutique law firm that represented financial institutions in regard to commercial real estate loans, modifications, refis and foreclosures. That is what she wanted to do. The pay was a little less than at Big Law, but she thought she would like the work environment. There are four lawyers and about 11 staff at the firm. But, the main selling point is that the two partners are in their 60s and want to retire in a few years. They wanted someone on board who would take over and buy them out over time once they do.

Thanks so much for highlighting such an important issue/opportunity for young lawyers. When I first started thinking about going solo, I reviewed listings and tried to find an opportunity to purchase an established practice. I did find listings, mainly in local bar classifieds and on Ed Poll’s classifieds: http://www.lawbiz.com/for_sale.html.

However, I could not afford the 6 figure payments. I think most young lawyers are mainly scared off by the numbers.The young lawyers I have seen successfully transition into ownership of an established solo practice typically already knew the older lawyer who was looking to wind down.

Instead of the myriad of Legal Zoom-like startups, I would love to see a company successfully find a way to match young lawyers with retiring solos so at least conversations can begin to take place and this option could at least be explored.

Great post! I hope to see more comments and discussion about this.