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What to consider when acquiring a firm
One principal discusses the speedy decision he made to acquire a small firm and the years of preparation and consideration that preceded it.
Jess Feyder
Justice Family Lawyers principal Hayder Shkara discussed the necessary considerations to make when looking to acquire a firm.
“Over the weekend, we negotiated terms, and Monday morning, there was a contract that was signed.”
“It was, to be honest, extremely, extremely quick when it came down to that, but it was because of the other practices that I looked at and the years of preparation that I put in,” he noted. “I understood exactly what I was looking for, and I knew that this was it.”
“Things can occur quickly, but if you take a step back, sometimes they take years to prepare for,” Mr Shkara highlighted. “Think, in a court case, you’ve got a solicitor, it might take them one hour to do something, but they’ve put in the years to make sure it happens in one hour — deciding to acquire a firm is similar to that.”
“You’re not going to buy the first car that you see or the first house you see, and you’re not going to buy the first firm you see,” he stated.
“Just like with all those other purchases or major decisions, you start to understand: what are the boxes that you need to tick? What can be compromised on a little bit and what are non-compromisable?
“Over the years, I developed that, I understood what I wanted and what I was looking for, and I think that’s very, very important.”
“It’s about understanding what exactly you’re looking for and how it would fit into your current practice.”
For instance, at one point, Mr Shkara said, “I was looking at another practice that was a little bit more general than my practice; my practice is fairly niche, we focus just on family law. I thought, ‘this might not be the right time or might not integrate well, or it might spread my resources too thin.’
“I would also look at things like, ‘How does the firm attract clients? What was their marketing strategy?’” he noted.
As well as: “Who is leaving the firm? Who’s going to be still around?” And whether the principal was willing to stay on or whether or not they wanted to leave.
