Law Firm Mergers & Acquisition
Whether you are seeking to acquire, sell or merge your Law Firm, Mr Green Consultancy has the experience and expertise to assist your firm in making the right decision having taken into account the views and requirements of all stakeholders.
The consultants at Mr Green Consultancy will support you through the decision making process through to due diligence, negotiation and finalising contracts. We will also guide you on the various regulatory requirements as set out by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) including the complex area of the successor practice rules.
Our service will cover each of the 3 areas relevant to M&A: –
- Sale – if you are seeking to dispose of your firm we will understand the reason for the sale and the urgency and work with the firm and its owners to understand the full implications of the sale and your expectations. Having consulted with you and gained a full understanding of your requirements we will work with you to identify potential acquisition partners and as necessary engage with them to establish an interest. Once a buyer has been found, as needed we can assist in the agreement of the sale dealing with the operational, financial, regulatory and contractual aspects.
- Merger – A merger opportunity is likely to have been established before the business approaches Mr Green Consultancy but in some instances, we are specifically instructed to seek merger partners as opposed to an acquisition partner. Mergers are often more complex as the newly merged firms will need to agree on decision-makers and methods of operating as the two firms fuse together. The agreements of the terms of the mergers and the requirements of each business are critical to getting it right. We will work with our client to ensure all elements of the mergers are identified and there is a full understanding of the commitments being made and what they mean for each of the firms. With this established the arrangement for the mergers can be discussed, agreed and progressed. At Mr Green Consultancy we can assist in identifying and agreeing on the contractual arrangements, handling regulatory issues, negotiations terms and financials, delivering on requirements and post implementation project work as required.
- Purchase – There will be various reasons for the purchase of another law firm from accessing their client base and technology through to growth or simply to absorb a competitor but irrespective of the reason the need to get this right is paramount. Whether a target has been identified and an outline agreement reach or you are seeking to engage Mr Green Consultancy to approach or find an acquisition target we have the experience to assist and work with you to ensure your acquisition is a success from engagement to takeover. As the acquirer is ordinarily the dominant partner it is essential to ensure those in the acquisition target are fully aware of your expectations and for contractual terms to be drafted to protect you and your investment. We have the experience to agree terms of the acquisition for you, undertake due diligence and agree on contractual terms, deal with all regulatory issues and address system and operations matters. We can also work with you to ensure the acquired firm is integrated successfully.
Our M&A Consultants
We are fully aware that law firm mergers and acquisitions are delicate and complex to ensure the expected outcome is achieved with success.
Much of the processes that are required as a change management programme apply to M&A and you can see our approach by clicking this link.
To find out more about how Mr Green Consultancy can work with you and help you secure a successful merger or acquisition you can call us on 0207 842 1825, email us [email protected] or click here to complete an online enquiry.
Additional Services For Law Firms
An essential part of any business is planning for the future. Planning is not always as easy as it may first seem and expertise is required to steer and guide a business to deliver proportionate and sensible projections that are achievable both financially and otherwise.
It is sensible to take detail from the past and assess what has been successful and what has not, to start to map out the opportunities and threats the firm has and what needs to occur to optimise the opportunities and manage or remove the risks.
Working with this information alongside reviewing competition, the market generally, technology, regulation and compliance and importantly the aspirations of the firm itself and the owners will result in a detailed plan that is capable of being projected forward with key steps, requirements and milestones. All set out in a clear and concise plan with financial and operational objectives and targets.
Regardless of the size of your firm and the challenges you face, or requirements you have, the starting point of success is to have a strategy and plan that is proportionate to your firm and realistic. We pride ourselves in working with firms of all sizes assisting and helping them build such plans to ensure future success by applying a methodical and sensible approach.
Setting up a law firm is not always as simple as it may first seem. Completing the SRA forms is one of the first steps of the journey and getting these right first time will ensure your firm opening is not delayed. The SRA time frame varies from time to time but is rarely shorter than 3 months. However, you have the chance to speed this up by presenting forms completed with the correct information. Failing to provide necessary information will delay your application and delay the launch of your firm. Using our experience provides you with a much greater prospect of getting the form accepted first time with no or minimal questions.
Creating a new firm needs detailed consideration and this is where our expertise takes you further than other advisors. Due to our wider experience of business management we will assist you with multitude of factors required when setting up a business, be that a law firm or any other type of business.
Through our own experience and affiliation with The strategic Partner, we will assist you in core area such as
- Branding, Marketing and Advertising
- Structure creation – Sole practitioner, LLP or Company – We can also help you set up the firm with companies house as relevant
- IT and Comms set up (email, domains, data, telephony etc)
- VAT registration
- PAYE registration
- Partnership or Shareholders agreements
- Staffing including employee handbook and contracts etc
- Strategy, projections and forecasts
- Regulation and compliance
- Practice Management
- Training
- Case Management
- Standard Letters and processes
We understand what is required to set up a law firm and maintain a compliant successful law firm and by engaged with Mr Green Consultancy to create your firm you will build quickly a firm that has the required elements to succeed.
If you looking to restructure your firm from a sole practitioner or a partnership or simply looking to convert into an LLP or Ltd status law firm we have the knowledge and experience to manage the appropriate needs of your business as you launch or go through a transition phase.
We will draw on the appropriate expertise you need and guide you through the regulatory requirements and finance considerations, ensuring that the structure you enter is robust, providing you with the optimum model for success.
With our consultancy working with you we can help deliver on your requirements on time so you can trade or continue to trade.
Deciding on selling your firm or seeking to merge or acquire a firm is a critical and serious time for any law firm. We work with firms at all stages of their journey, ensuring they are ready and prepared for the step they are going to take.
Starting off on the right path is essential to ensuring your requirements are met and successful. Ensuring success in this area is all about planning and understanding what your ultimate goals are and ensuring you are very clear on this.
The next step is due diligence to ensure there is full transparency in the firm you are acquiring. The consequences of getting this wrong can be dramatic so it has to be right.
The final step is the integration and ensuring this is completed in a timely manner to ensure that the benefits of the merger or acquisition are appreciated in the quickest possible time frame without damaging either firm.
If you are conspiring a merger or acquisition as part of your future proceeding with our expertise will provide you with the benefit of independent experience that seeks to guarantee success.
We work with a number of finance specialists in the legal sector, ensuring that firms access what they require financially, when they require it, on the best possible terms.
Whilst we are not regulated to provide financial advice, what we will do is work with you to ensure your firm is positioned in the best possible way to present your needs to funders to ensure you obtain the best possible terms. Obtaining funding is not always easy and ensuring you have expertise on your side to ensure you obtain the best possible chance of achieving your financial requirements, can prove essential.
Assisting law firms with building a robust marketing and advertising campaigns through to sales capture and conversion is a serious and often complex process. There are a number of facets to consider, all of which need to be correct and require careful planning to ensure a firm’s strategy for new business is a success.
It is necessary to join up each of the steps and put in place appropriate measures to deliver a successful strategy.
Our approach to working with firms building or reviewing their new business strategy is to ensure that we focus on achievement of realistic goals for the budgets set and respecting the resource within the firm alongside review of the operational processes and training of the staff involved in each step of the journey.
Without appropriate planning and appreciating the boundaries the firm has, leads to campaigns not working or new business opportunities being wasted.
An area of management of a law firm that cannot be ignored. Our knowledge of compliance and regulation in the legal sector is unchallenged. Whether delivering advice directly or through working with other industry experts we work with firms providing them with a robust regulation and compliance strategy that offers protection to the firm enabling the key decision makers to concern themselves with effective running of the firm and not being worried about the regulator.
Our view to compliance is that it must be appropriate and proportionate for the firm and be manageable on a day to day basis that works. A firm must be compliant and it must introduce policies and procedures that work for the firm, ensuring they remain compliant and do not implement policies that are over the top or simply will not work.
By understanding your firm and understanding regulation we deliver proportionate regulatory structures that the owners and staff understand, respect and can work with.
One of the most important assets of a firm is their staff and ensuring that each firm has an approach to managing their staff that works is essential for delivering success. Every firm is different and the way in which staff are managed will vary but there are fundamentals that must be implemented and complied with. The requirement here is to ensure the basics are in place and they are tailored to meet each environment ensuring your firm gets the best from their staff in all situations both positive and negative.
We work with firms to review and implement an approach to staff management that covers all of the necessary requirements yet respects the type of firm, style of management and requirements of the owners. We work with you to build successful people as we recognise that it is the people in your business that will deliver your success.
A challenging time for any firm is reviewing or introducing new technology. Changing systems or introducing technology, if not executed correctly can have a devastating effect on the business.
We work with firm from the initial stages of identification of what technology is appropriation through to the building stages and finally implantation. We build strategies for change that work for firms and understand their requirements, ensuring that the technology they have and introduce is necessary and proportionate and will be used to its full potential.