Issues to consider when selling a legal practice.Many legal practices change hands in Australia. Buyers can be anything from the younger lawyer looking to get out of the large firm and into a smaller practice to the larger firm looking to consolidate by buying some clients and growing that way. If you’re looking to sell your legal practice, there are a number of things you should keep in mind:

1. You should maintain an effective debtor management system – lawyers are notoriously bad with this stuff  so somebody doesn’t want to inherit a business with a fundamental flaw in this regard and a client base that is in the habit of not paying until very late.
2. You should have research systems and access to key resources (many of which can be purchased,
3. Proximity to Courts is important.  Lawyers get paid by the hour so you don’t need to be in traffic or on the train when you could be billing hours to your clients
4. If you have a strategic position, then a long term lease will be advantageous
5. It’s all about the people. It’s all about your team. The current directors may be exiting the business however what you leave behind is part of the value that you are selling. A history of talent retention is important
6. A buyer wants to see identifiable growth and you should be able to show that. This applies to all businesses but especially to a legal practice.
7.  No one wants to buy business that is  continually putting out fires. You need clear risk management controls and manageable insurance premium trends to satisfy a buyer that you have this area under control
8. You need to place appropriate emphasis on profitable areas of expertise in all forms of marketing, but particularly your website