Designing A Succession Plan For Your Law Practice
About The Book
The insider’s guide to selling a law practice, transferring ownership, and designing a great Life After Law, written by Tom Lenfestey and Camille Stell, two of the top authorities in succession planning.
About The Author
Tom Lenfestey
Meet the guy who wrote the book on buying and selling law practices.
Tom Lenfestey is the owner and founder of The Law Practice Exchange, the nation’s premier law firm brokerage and lawyer transition service. An attorney and CPA, Tom has practiced law since 2004. He is a popular speaker and writer on retirement and succession planning.
Early in his career, Tom helped professional businesses create ownership transfer strategies. That’s when he came to a surprising realization. He saw that most lawyers had no clear idea of what would happen to their firm if they weren’t there to run it. Few had a specific plan for transitioning into retirement. Even fewer knew the range of options available for selling or transferring ownership of their practice for value. Many didn’t think their practice had any value.
Most importantly, he saw how this lack of knowledge was hurting lawyers – not just financially, but also by causing needless stress and uncertainty about the future.
So he created The Law Practice Exchange. There, he educates lawyers on transition strategies. He answers their questions about retirement, sale and succession. He calculates what their practice is worth, and he helps them get full value for it.
And now he’s co-written this book. It contains his years of accumulated wisdom, experience and insights into selling and transferring law practices. It will put you in control of your professional destiny. It might even open up exciting new possibilities you’ve never imagined.
Learn more at www.thelawpracticeexchange.com
Camille Stell
What does it take to create a first-of-its-kind consulting company that helps law firms evolve and thrive?
For Camille Stell, it took years of helping lawyers navigate the most difficult challenges of their professional lives.
Camille is the founder, president and CEO of Lawyers Mutual Consulting & Services. She is a nationally recognized speaker, writer and thought leader on building modern law firms, succession planning, and Life After Law.
She counsels law firms on next-level solutions, and she coaches individual lawyers on real-time problems.
After graduating from Meredith College and its paralegal program, Camille worked at top law firms in North Carolina and managed Client Services for the state’s largest legal malpractice insurance provider. She has chaired the Law Practice Management Section of the North Carolina Bar Association and the Legal Marketing Association Raleigh City Group. She has served on the North Carolina State Bar Committee to Study Regulatory Reform, the Duke Law Tech Lab Advisory Group, and the North Carolina Pro Bono Resource Center Advisory Board.
Camille is a Fellow in the College of Law Practice Management. She was honored by the Triangle Business Journal with its 2016 “Women in Business” award and by North Carolina Lawyers Weekly in its 2011 inaugural class of “Leaders in the Law.”
In the process of winning these and many other accolades, Camille gained a unique perspective into why some lawyers thrive while others merely survive.
She discovered that successful careers don’t just happen. They have to be created. A happy, fulfilling Life After Law doesn’t simply materialize from thin air. It has to be designed.
She co-wrote this book to help lawyers do just that.
Book Reviews
“You might be reluctant to think about a succession plan when you pick up this book, but as you read on, you will become positively eager to get going! Camille and Tom will convince you why you need one, explain your various options, then take you through the process step-by-step with practical advice, real-life examples, and good humor. Whenever the time comes for you to leave your practice, having that succession plan will help you do it with a deep sense of readiness and satisfaction.”
— Ida Abbott, JD, Author of Retirement By Design (Ulysses Press, 2020)
“Having worked with Camille on numerous seminars and conferences targeted at improving all areas of law practice management, and specifically those regarding succession and transition planning for law firms, I have seen first-hand the depth and breadth of her expertise in the matter and I have witnessed her commitment to helping law firms survive the transition from one generation of lawyers to the next. The scenarios, quizzes, “how to” chapters, as well as firsthand stories Tom and Camille share are the tools a lawyer needs to start their own succession planning process. This book can also serve as an introduction to Tom and Camille as members of their succession planning team. The book is designed to assist solo and small firm lawyers create a succession plan that includes transferring ownership of their law firm to an internal buyer or an external buyer. Succession planning doesn’t mean you stop work today, but that you have a plan for success in moving forward.”
— Rachel Blunk, Managing Attorney, The Forrest Firm
“Practical. Readable. Motivating! “Designing a Succession Plan For Your Law Practice” is an invaluable resource and planning guide. Solo and small firm partners will be especially interested in the sections on valuing and selling a law firm. All lawyers will appreciate the practical, expert advice outlining the options that await lawyers in this next phase.”
— Joan H. Feldman, Editor/Publisher, Attorney at Work (AttorneyatWork.com)
“Lawyers nearing the end of their careers will soon transition from the practice of law to the next phase of their lives. These lawyers, and their family members and friends, need help to accomplish this complex and challenging task. Tom Lenfestey and Camille Stell have provided the perfect resource with “Designing a Succession Plan for Your Law Practice.” This accessible and engaging book, written by two of the nation’s leading experts in law practice succession, guides lawyers step-by-step past the initial reluctance to contemplate the end of practice through the exciting process of envisioning their post-law future, and covers every last practical detail involved in valuing and selling a practice, preparing successors, looking after your clients, and charting a course forward. This book is an invaluable resource for accomplished lawyers approaching their final years in practice — and makes an ideal gift from those who care about them.”
— Jordan Furlong, Legal Market Analyst and Principal, Law21
“I have worked with Camille Stell and Tom Lenfestey and have observed them collectively handle the emotional and sometimes difficult issues with succession planning while simultaneously working through the economic matters law firms have during transition. I would highly recommend this book for any lawyer or firm who would appreciate working with a team of caring professionals during succession planning.”
— Tea Hoffmann, Esquire, Law Strategy Coach, Managing Principal
