ASK: create an action plan that summarizes my key takeaways and outlines specific steps I can take to apply what I've learned in my work CONTEXT: I am a law professor so the action plan should focus on informing my teaching, future events, and influence the legal market broadly. I recently attended a conference and have created a checklist and replies to help me capture my learnings and insights. CHECKLIST & REPLIES: What were the main topics covered at the event? - How to build your first practice as a new lawyer – from practical to strategy planning - How to prepare to sell your firm – from valuation and transition as a non-owner - How to by a law firm – due diligence and financing What were the most interesting or surprising insights you gained? - That buying a law firm is attainable for lawyers who even have student debt. The nature of how these transactions can be structured alleviates the need for a big upfront payment - Ethically, there are few restrictions on selling a law practice - Most aging lawyers have no succession plan/options or retirement plan Were there any notable speakers or sessions that stood out to you? What did you learn from them? - Tom Lenfestey who is a CPA, lawyer, and law firm business broker (he is creating a marketplace for firms to be bought and sold – works with buyers/sellers on making a match, doing the deal, and managing most deal transition/integration - Carol Elefant who is an energy lawyer by practice but has been a leading voice/advocate for “going solo” for decades. She has written books and 100s of articles/blogs on this topic. Myshingle.com is her home for this topic Were there any key trends or developments discussed? How do they impact your industry or work? - Aging lawyers simply don’t make succession/retirement plans - The modern legal era has made it quite affordable to start a law practice – Carol shared an budget to start a virtual firm that was under $2000! - Many existing law practices have not been modernized and represent significant value to a buyer who wants to improve upon things in order to grow the firm - Deregulation of the legal profession (opening to non-lawyer ownership, allowing outside capital, and loosening unauthorized practice of law restrictions) is gaining momentum. While some states have taken a hard stance against this, more are actively exploring this topic Did you have any interesting conversations or make any valuable connections with other attendees? What did you learn from them? Did you attend any workshops or training sessions? What skills did you develop or improve? Did you learn any new tools, techniques, or best practices that you can apply to your work? - Tom shared that the typical way to value a law firm is based on a number of factors but not based on firm revenue, rather the equivalent of SDE – sellers’ discretionary earnings. - Buying a law firm can be done with an SBA loan - Professional liability insurance for new lawyers is highly affordable – in the low 100’s per year Were there any key challenges or obstacles discussed? How can you address them in your work? - Key challenges is fear and ignorance. Law schools typically are not talking about the role of entrepreneurship or business ownership of law firms. So students are forced into the traditional pathways of “get a job” “any job.” By sharing more on the business of law and how to build and buy a practice, we are more inclusive and helpful to students - Tom referenced being a “generational mediator” – that is he often has to help manage the relationship between a Baby Boomer selling lawyer and a GenX or Millennial buyer. Each has their own language and POV on the world and how a firm can be led and managed. It is a delicate balance to avoid offending the selling lawyer while allowing the buying lawyer to feel like they can make the changes they want. Did you take any notes or capture any resources (e.g. handouts, presentations) that you can refer back to later? There is a video of the entire conversation on LinkedIn. It was a LinkedIn Live event. How can you apply what you learned to your work or organization? What are the next steps? I am a law professor and I am the one that hosted this event. I plan to transcribe the video as well as cut it into short “key talking point” snippets. I will then use both content types to share out to law students, use a teaching material in future classes, and share out on social media for the broader legal market to consume.
Based on the information you provided, here is an action plan that summarizes your key takeaways and outlines specific steps you can take to apply what you learned in your work:
Share your key takeaways and insights with your colleagues: Consider presenting your insights at a faculty meeting or discussing them with your colleagues to encourage them to incorporate these concepts into their teaching as well.
Use the video and snippets to teach students: Transcribe the video and cut it into shorter, more easily digestible snippets. Use these resources to teach law students about the business of law and how to build, buy, and sell a law practice.
Use social media to share your insights with the broader legal market: Use social media platforms such as LinkedIn and Twitter to share your insights and snippets with other legal professionals. By sharing your knowledge and expertise, you can position yourself as a thought leader in the legal industry.
Create a course or workshop on the business of law: Consider creating a course or workshop on the business of law, where you can teach students how to build, buy, and sell a law practice. You can use your insights and resources to create a comprehensive curriculum that prepares students for the modern legal market.
Incorporate entrepreneurship and business ownership into your curriculum: Take the opportunity to incorporate entrepreneurship and business ownership of law firms into your curriculum to provide students with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in the modern legal market. This can include topics such as marketing, accounting, and finance.
Attend future events and continue to stay informed: Attend future events and stay up to date on trends and developments in the legal industry. This will allow you to continue to learn and improve your teaching and influence on the legal market.
By following these steps, you can apply what you learned at the conference to inform your teaching, future events, and influence the legal market broadly.
Elaborate on "share your key takeaways and insights with your colleagues," please provide 5 specific ideas with examples of how I might do this.
Sure, here are five specific ideas on how you can share your key takeaways and insights with your colleagues:
- Host a debrief session: Consider hosting a debrief session with your colleagues to share the most interesting or surprising insights you gained from the conference. You could prepare a short presentation, including any key trends or developments that you feel are relevant to your organization or work. You could also invite discussion and brainstorming around how to apply these insights.
Example: You could schedule a meeting with your colleagues to discuss the key takeaways from the conference, and invite everyone to share their thoughts on how the information can be used to improve the organization's strategy. During the meeting, you could also brainstorm ideas for incorporating the insights into future events, projects or initiatives.
- Share your notes and resources: You can share your notes, handouts, presentations, and any other resources you collected during the conference with your colleagues. This can help to spread knowledge and facilitate discussion around the insights you gained.
Example: You could create a shared document or folder where you upload your notes and resources, and invite your colleagues to access and review the materials. This could also be a space where you and your colleagues can share your thoughts on how the insights can be applied to your work.
- Collaborate on a project: Consider collaborating with your colleagues on a project that applies the insights you gained from the conference. This can help to facilitate a deeper understanding of the insights and how they can be used in practice.
Example: You could suggest a project that addresses a specific challenge or opportunity in your organization, and encourage your colleagues to apply the insights you gained from the conference to the project. You could then work together to develop a plan for implementing the project.
- Send a summary email: Send a summary email to your colleagues, highlighting the most interesting insights and key takeaways from the conference. This can be a simple way to ensure that everyone in the organization is aware of the insights you gained and how they can be applied.
Example: You could create a brief email that summarizes the most important insights you gained from the conference, along with any resources that you feel are relevant. You could also invite your colleagues to reach out to you for more information or to discuss the insights in more detail.
- Incorporate the insights into your teaching: As a law professor, you can incorporate the insights you gained from the conference into your teaching. This can help to ensure that your students are aware of the latest trends and developments in the legal market.
Example: You could develop a new course or update an existing one to include the insights you gained from the conference. You could also use the insights to inform case studies, assignments, or other course materials.