Mastering Law Firm Transactions: Buying, selling, and succession planning (Includes 1hr of Ethics)

Tom Lenfestey | The Law Practice Exchange

Tom Lenfestey is the Founder of The Law Practice Exchange, LLC as well as a practicing North Carolina attorney, licensed CPA and Accredited Business Intermediary. Tom’s years in private practice focused on transition and succession planning for other professions including creating, advising and implementing strategic business and estate plans for those clients. In doing so, he came to recognize the lack of knowledge, attention and options that were available in the legal profession to attorneys and their own practices, specifically in the realm of succession planning and other transition or exit opportunities. As a result, Tom founded The Law Practice Exchange in 2013 to provide education, options and brokerage and consulting services to the legal profession on selling, buying and overall law firm succession strategies.

Tom has served on the Transitioning Lawyers Commission and Professional Vitality Committee with the North Carolina Bar Association and provides numerous educational events to attorneys hosted by state and local bar associations, legal insurers and law related professional organizations on the topics of succession planning, selling your law practice, valuing a law practice and others related to lawyer transitions. In addition, Tom has been interviewed or published in a number of legal publications in regard to transition planning for lawyers and law firms.

Tom is an author of the book Designing a Succession Plan for Your Law Practice and numerous other articles and resources about selling, buying and valuation of law firms.

Tom is a NC State Wolfpack fan and a past Michigander (who still believes in the Lions). However, his true passion in life is his family including his wife and two young boys, lake living and their travel adventures.

Camille Stell | Lawyers Mutual Consulting & Services

Camille Stell serves as President of Lawyers Mutual Consulting & Services. She is a frequent author and speaker on the topics of ethics and professionalism, retirement and succession planning, law firm compensation, and law firm trends of the future.

Camille is a Fellow in the College of Law Practice Management. She has served on the North Carolina State Bar Regulatory Review Subcommittee from 2020 – 2022. She serves as a member of the NC Pro Bono Resource Coordinators Network, the Advisory Group for the Duke Law Tech Lab, the Advisory Board for the Legal Aid of NC Innovation Lab, the Steering Committee for the Raleigh chapter of the Legal Marketing Association and the Board of Directors for the Raleigh Durham Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators.

Camille is the co-author of two books written during the pandemic: Designing a Succession Plan for your Law Practice: A Step-by-Step Guide for Preparing Your Firm for Maximum Value, published in 2021 and RESPECT: Insights in Law Firm Compensation, published in 2022.

Session I – Mastering Law Firm Transactions: Buying, selling, and succession planning | 12:00pm – 1:00pm

• Navigating law firm valuation
• Strategic growth through acquisition
• Effective succession planning
• Best practices for law firm sales
• Exit planning strategies

Break | 1:00pm – 1:10pm

Session II – Navigating Ethical Challenges in Law Firm Transactions | 1:10pm – 2:10pm

• Ethics of buying and selling law firms
• Conflict of interest management
• Client confidentiality and file transition
• Fiduciary duties to clients and partners
• Proper handling of trust accounts
• Emotional preparedness
• Ethics in succession planning