Law Firm Valuations 

Law firms may need to be valued for any one of the following reasons:

• Capital buy-in of a new partner/shareholder
• Capital buy-out of a retiring/withdrawing owner
• Merger or acquisition
• Dissolution of a firm
• Divorce of a law firm partner/shareholder
• Insurance coverage
• Estate planning

In certain situations the valuation methodology is dictated by the IRS or the courts in a particular jurisdiction, which must be followed when appearing before those governmental bodies. In other situations experts have used a variety of valuation methodologies, which are categorized as follows:

                    o  Market Value Approach

                    oIncome-Based Approach

                    o  Asset Based Approach

Bill wrote a chapter for the book Valuing Professional Licenses and Practices entitled “An Overview of Law Firm Valuation for Family Lawyers” which discusses each of these valuation methodologies and which book is relied upon by CPA’s across the country when they are valuing law firms. Based on his experience working with many law firms on valuation issues, as well as his involvement in many law firm mergers and acquisitions, Bill recommends a particular approach to law firm valuation that is practical and reflects his real world knowledge of law firms. This approach has been battle tested in numerous consulting engagements with excellent results. If you are seeking a law firm valuation that law firm partners/shareholders find fair and reasonable, we have a solution you should consider.