"Fail to prepare, and you prepare to fail". No matter what the circumstances that lead you to consider merging, this old maxim will hold true. Any merger is a negotiation process, and negotiation actually starts before the parties even meet. Not only must your Firm be correctly perceived within the marketplace, but you must also ensure that it meets up to expectations.
The 360 Legal Group has identified three main areas to consider when preparing your Firm for merger.
- Fix Your Finances and Client Base: recognise that a third party is going to be casting a critical eye over those parts of your practice which you may have neglected. Work in progress should be realistically assessed and irrecoverable time written off. Ensure that old clients and zero balances are archived so that your detailed reports are both meaningful and credible. Repeat the process for your debtor lists, and revisit your credit control procedures. Write off and provide where necessary, and again ensure that your detailed debtor list actually looks like an asset. Finally, identify your least desirable and/or least profitable clients and lose them.
- Fix Your Marketing: focus again on how your Firm markets itself. Ensure that your self image is clearly defined and that every marketing initiative reinforces that image. Communicate clearly what your Firm is about, both internally and externally. Network wherever and whenever possible to ensure the best possible reputation for your Firm in the local community, particularly among accountants, bankers, businessment and, of course, other Lawyers.
- Fix Your Team: revisit your business plan and think critically about your fee earners and staff. They are your biggest cost, but they are also your biggest asset. Deal with any underperformers, using appraisals and staff management techniques either to redress the underperformance or legitimately prompt their departure. Similarly, recruit the best possible people to fill any vacancies and don't quibble too much about the cost. Finally, ensure that everyone in your Firm is playing to their strengths, again maximising performance.
Preparing a Firm for merger is like preparing a house for sale. Make sure that every element is presented in the best possible light. Compare yourselves critically with the competition, and use any benchmarking information that you have available. The 360 Legal Group works with a wide range of firms across the country and can bring true objectivity to this process.
