Maximum Lawyer How Can Lawyers Plan For Life After Law? with Victoria Collier
Have you thought about what you will do when it’s time to retire and leave your law firm? In this podcast episode, Jim and Tyson interview Victoria Collier, the founder and CEO of Quid Pro Quo. Victoria shares her journey in the legal industry, from being a paralegal in the military to starting and selling her own successful law firm.
Tyson, Jim and Victoria discuss the mission of Quid Pro Quo, which is to guide others to finding their path to life after law. This mission encompasses the idea that you need to begin a career with an end in mind. Most attorneys only think about the next paycheck or next client, but don't think about where they will be at the end of the road. For many law firm owners, they will need to sell their business at some point. Victoria shares the idea that the best way to sell when the time comes is to stay low and stay small.
Victoria discusses the concept of the “owners box” in a law firm. This is the idea that a firm needs to be separate from the owner. Most times, it is harder to sell a firm if the owner is so closely tied to the business. Being closely tied comes with an owner being too involved or front facing. To move away from this, it is important to have people in between the owner and the business. For example, hiring people to answer phones and schedule appointments. This allows owners to not be chained to their desk. Ultimately, being in the owners box means being the visionary of where a law firm is going to go and building a team to help execute it.
There are a few things to consider when selling a law firm at retirement. One thing is ensuring your finances are in order and that you are in the right place to sell. Think about your profit margin and where you will be at retirement. If you don't have enough, you need to think about ways to increase revenue and decrease expenses. Another thing is ensuring you as the owner are a bit removed from the firm, through processes and systems. The whole firm should not revolve around the owner. It is important to maximize the system, processes and people to ensure a firm can run without an owner.
In many cases, there will be multiple partners of a law firm. Victoria talks about how to address an attorney who wants to be a partner. It is important to consider if this individual will add value to your firm and that they have the best intentions. Ask a potential partner why they want to join and how they will make the firm the best it can be.
Listen in to learn more!
3:19 Victoria shares the mission of her company, Quid Pro Quo
10:32 Being in the owner's box
12:26 Considerations for selling a law firm
23:49 Associates expressing interest in becoming partners
27:23 Focus on developing leadership skills
Jim's Hack: Sign up for Gary Falkowitz masterclass on intake and client advocacy, which helps people fix their intake systems at www.maxintake.com
Victoria’s Tip: Start learning about leadership instead of management and how to be a great leader versus a manager.
Tysons Tip: Read “Getting Things Done” by David Allen. The book has a lot of practical tips to help get organized.
🎥 Watch the full video on YouTube here.
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