Law Firm Carolinas announces that Jon Raymer, who practices commercial and residential real estate here in Greensboro, has been named Partner.

There have also been several recent additions to the firm: Andrew Brower and Jonathon Woodruff have joined the Greensboro office. Andrew Brower heads the firm’s Estate Planning & Administration Department (wills, trusts, probate and guardianships). Jonathon Woodruff practices community association law and HOA/condo assessment collections.

Two firm offices have relocated to newer, larger spaces. The Wilmington Office has moved to 219 Racine Drive. The Raleigh Office has moved to 3000 Highwoods Boulevard. In addition, the firm has recently announced the opening of a Columbia, South Carolina, office. Managing partner Keith Black states that the firm changes, new attorneys, and office locations position the firm to better serve both existing and future clients.

Leading North Carolina law firm Brooks Pierce is delighted to announce that Tanisha Palvia, Natalie Sanders, Elizabeth Troutman and Matt Tynan have been named partners in the firm.

“These highly accomplished attorneys have demonstrated a passion for the law and the ability to get great results on behalf of our clients,” said Reid Phillips, the firm’s managing partner. “We’re pleased to have them as our newest partners.”

A former Manhattan Assistant District Attorney, Palvia represents individuals and organizations facing governmental investigations and white-collar criminal charges. She helps companies and universities conduct internal investigations and handles complex civil litigation. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a Robertson Scholar and her juris doctor from Emory University School of Law.

 

 

 

 

Sanders advises clients on how to remain compliant with state and federal regulations and how to best position themselves against future litigation as they navigate the complexities of employment-related tasks. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, she has played a key role in educating businesses on how to best navigate the rapidly changing employment landscape and evolving regulations. She was selected as one of the Triad Business Journal’s “Outstanding Women in Business” in 2021 and recognized as a “Visionary Leader” by the Rotary Club of Greensboro in 2019. Sanders earned her bachelor’s degree at Buena Vista University and her juris doctor from Duke University School of Law.

 

Troutman advises public school boards of education, private educational institutions, colleges and universities on a wide range of education issues and litigates on their behalf in state and federal courts. She also helps clients in a variety of industries navigate the complexities of human resources and employment law issues, including employment policies and employee separation. She has received numerous awards including being selected by her peers for inclusion in Business North Carolina’s “Legal Elite” in the Young Guns category (2021) and in The Best Lawyers in America© “Ones to Watch” for Education Law (2021-2022), Commercial Litigation, Labor and Employment Law – Management and Litigation – Labor and Employment (2022). She was recognized as a “Rising Star” by North Carolina Lawyers Weekly​ (2019) and a North Carolina Super Lawyers “Rising Star” in Schools and Education Law (2019-2021). She was named one of the Triad Business Journal’s “40 Leaders Under 40 in 2019.” Troutman received her bachelor’s degree from Princeton University, a master’s degree in public policy from Duke University and her juris doctor from UNC School of Law.

 

Tynan focuses his practice on business litigation and environmental law, advising clients on a diverse range of energy law issues and environmental regulatory matters. He also advises clients in disputes relating to the purchase and sale of renewable energy credits and in disputes relating to the interconnection of independent solar power generation resources. Tynan has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh, a master’s degree in environmental management from Duke University and received his law degree from the Duke University School of Law.

On June 18, 2021, the Governor signed Session Law 2021-47 (SB 255) (hereinafter, the “Act”). Section 1.(b) of the Act establishes a new procedure for the assignment of medical malpractice cases brought in the Superior Court Division.  This new subsection establishes that the same judge will preside over all proceedings in a medical malpractice case from start to finish. The Senior Resident Superior Court Judge is tasked with assigning each medical malpractice case filed in his/her district to a specific judge for this purpose. The requirements of G.S. § 7A-47.3(e) apply to medical malpractice cases brought in the Superior Court Division as opposed to the few medical malpractice cases brought in the District Court Division. These provisions fall within Subchapter 3 of Chapter 7A, which are the provisions that govern the “Superior Court Division of the General Court of Justice.”  This change will be effective October 1, 2021 for any pending medical malpractice action AND those filed on or after October 1, 2021.  Below, please find an outline of how Guilford County will proceed with complying with the Act.

Essentially, these matters will now be handled in a manner similar to a 2.1 designated case.

Please note, this new legislation should not and will not be used to delay any pending proceedings.

Pending Actions

For any medical malpractice matter which is pending and currently set to proceed to trial between now and 1/31/2022, the judge assigned to that trial session will be assigned to those matters.

For any medical malpractice matter pending with a trial date set on or after February 7^th, 2022, parties will need to contact the respective TCC in Greensboro and High Point to discuss options of how we will proceed with assigning those matters to a judge.  Parties will need to be prepared to present the TCC with (2) options as to who they would request be assigned to their case.  They will then confer with those choices to determine a final assignment.

For any medical malpractice matter currently pending without a set trial date, these matters will be placed on the Administrative Calendar as usual.  Once parties have received the Notice, they will submit the completed Response in the usual manner.  Please note there will be a new section added to the response form for selecting judge options.

Future Actions

When you file a new medical malpractice case, it is now the filing party’s responsibility to notify the respective TCC of the new filing.  This will ensure these matters are handled in a timely manner.

Once the action is filed, the TCC will begin communications with the parties as to how they will proceed to assign the matter to a specific judge.

For every medical malpractice case, the Senior Resident Superior Court Judge will enter an order of assignment that shall be sent to the Clerk’s Office for filing and mailing to counsel of record and pro se parties.

Thank you for your cooperation in these cases.

This year, the GBA and its Membership Committee want to facilitate additional welcoming touches for new members (particularly if meetings continue to be remote due to COVID-19) and networking opportunities for existing members. We have heard how much our members miss the opportunity for fellowship and connections with each other. The GBA will provide a limited number of gift cards (on a first come, first served basis) to cover the cost of coffee for two members.

Please let us know if you would like to participate by completing this Google form: https://forms.gle/krb1mHeQoyEjj7oq9 

Once we’ve heard from members about their interest, the Membership Committee will facilitate connections between participants. Thanks for your interest! And a hat tip to Judge Hassell for his idea in naming the project.

Questions? Email Diane Lowe: [email protected]

Every law practice has value, including yours.

That value is real – as in dollars and cents real – and marketable. And it may be significantly higher than you think. Those truths are worth repeating: (1) your practice has value, which is (2) quantifiable and (3) marketable and (4) possibly greater than you think.

Valuing Your Practice

Let’s take a closer look at how to determine the value of your law practice. There are different methods to do this. For you, the “right” method will depend on the purpose of the valuation and your unique needs. Here are the basic methods:

1. Rule of Thumb method. This is actually not one set method, but a variety of methods that look at past cash flows in order to estimate future value. The underlying premise is that what has happened in the past should (hopefully) continue in the future. Typically, the cash flow numbers that are examined are either Revenues or Net Income, with the latter being used in most professional and market valuations.

a) Revenues. Law practices will typically sell for a multiple of anywhere from .5 to 1.5 of average annual revenues. Therefore, a practice with average annual revenues of $500,000 may sell for anywhere from $250,000 to $750,000. That’s not a bad number – especially if you didn’t previously think your practice had any marketable value at all. The major drawback of this approach is that it doesn’t consider how well the firm is run, or how much profit/net cash flow it leaves the owner.

b) Multiple of Net Income. Law practices will typically sell for a multiple of between two to three times net earnings. Using our example from above, if that same firm has net income of $200,000, then the value may be anywhere between $400,00 to $600,000. The major drawback with this approach is it leaves out core adjustments and considerations unique to the practice that can have a big impact on what a buyer would actually pay for it.

2. Market Comparison. When it comes to buying and selling law practices, the publicly available information is limited, to say the least. There is no general database of closed transactions. Most negotiations and sales prices are confidential. But there are experts out there who have insider knowledge of the marketplace and actual sales outcomes. These experts – CPAs, law practice brokers, lawyers, lenders and others who know the law firm transfer market – are invaluable resources. Their specialized skillset comes from having handled law firm transfers over the years.

You’re familiar with real estate market analyses and comparisons. The law firm market approach works the same way. It compares your law practice characteristics (financials, practice area, geographic area, etc.) to other law practice sales that have recently closed to reach an opinion as to value. What one sold for down the street yesterday should be approximately what yours would sell for today, provided they are similar enough in core features and financials.

3. Key Value Drivers. Every law practice is unique. They’re different in a myriad of ways. The individual characteristics of your practice need to be considered as part of your valuation. Some of these factors will increase the value. Others will lower it.

The above methods will help place your practice on a valuation spectrum. To pinpoint with greater specificity where your practice is located on that spectrum, you should factor in your firm’s unique characteristics. Here are some of the primary characteristics that may cause a significant swing in value either way:

• Financial performance
• Growth potential
• Brand identity
• Size of practice
• Repetitive client revenues and fee structures
• Practice structure and owner involvement
• Client satisfaction
• Practice area
• Client diversity
• Geographic location
• Quality of employees/staff

4. Adjustments. Whatever valuation method is used, you’ll likely have to make some additional adjustments after factoring in the key drivers listed above. These adjustments will either increase or decrease your firm’s value.

Here are some of the typical adjustments law practice brokers and valuation experts use to arrive at a market price:

a) Non-arms-length Revenues or Expenses. An example would be a higher-than-market lease payment that you pay yourself as landlord. If this payment is not within the market range, it should be adjusted downward, which will increase cash flow
and practice value.

b) Revenue or Expenses from Expendable Assets. An example would be a lake house or beach house that is used occasionally for employees or firm events, but most or all of its costs are paid by the practice. The house isn’t needed to run the practice, so the costs should be removed, as well as the asset itself.

c) Owner Salaries and Bonuses. Owner salaries are often higher or lower than regular salary that would be paid to a replacement attorney. Adjusting as needed will have a positive or negative impact on value.

d) One-Time Disputes, Recoveries and Other Non-Typical Events. Any non-recurring income or expenses that arise during the review period should be deducted.

e) One-Time Professional Fees. If you paid a developer a large sum for that new software customization or hired a marketing consultant for specialized services, these one-time fees should be added back as well.

f) Repairs and Maintenance. Private business owners often aggressively move what should be capital expenses into the repairs categories for tax deduction purposes. Some of these items should be added back to increase net income.

g) Other Income and Expenses. This profit and loss category is the dumping ground for unclassified or ‘do not desire to classify’ expenses. Buried here are items that may need to be added back to contribute to cash flow and increase value.

The ‘It Depends’ Disclaimer

Variables are always subject to change. Which means the end result can also change. Some of these variables are unique to you and your practice, while others are external.

The good news is your practice has value which should be considered as you begin to contemplate succession planning and retirement.

Camille Stell is the President of Lawyers Mutual Consulting & Services and co-author along with Tom Lenfestey of Designing A Succession Plan For Your Law Practice: A Step-by-Step Guide for Preparing Your Firm for Maximum Value. Continue this conversation by contacting Camille at [email protected] or 919.677.8900.

Even in a weird era like now, fall is a special time. GBA has a lot to look forward to in the coming season – more on that in a minute. Bowing to the reality we’re now in, the GBA Board decided in September to make all GBA events for the rest of 2021 virtual. It’s unfortunate because even though we have great virtual programs, we miss the networking element we all appreciate (and thought we were getting back to). So long as we’re in this virtual mode, our member meetings will be at 12:30 so please mark your calendars for the upcoming October 21 and November 18 meetings.

Our first virtual membership meeting was in September and we heard from Mark Phillips, President of Phillips Collection, a design and furnishings company in High Point. I’m pretty sure it was GBA’s first ever meeting featuring our speaker on a Segway giving a warehouse tour. I guess virtual meetings have their upside after all.

For our upcoming membership meeting (October 21), we’ll be happy to welcome a representative of another important Triad company, Todd Navin of Haeco. I don’t think he can give us a virtual plane tour but it should be a good one.

We have a less “businessey” group of speakers lined up for next year but I wanted to do a couple of programs featuring some local business leaders. One of my goals as President is to expose some of my colleagues in the business bar (like corporate and real estate lawyers) to the activities and benefits of the bar. The business lawyers are more likely to be in their offices sending emails than at the courthouse rubbing elbows (I guess you can do that if you have a mask on) with the rest of the bar. I (as a business lawyer) have gotten a lot out of the GBA and I hope my colleagues can do the same. I have been able to work with lawyers I probably would never run into in my practice and that’s been a real benefit to me. Anyway, I hope you like hearing from these types of speakers.

We meet some political leaders at our November 18 meeting but we’ll focus on that next month. At that meeting we’ll also elect our State Bar Councilors, so we hope to have another good turnout.

Our Habitat effort (thanks again Bill Cooke) is (mostly) on schedule. The fundraising effort was a success and, along with a grant from the Bar Foundation will be used to complete the next house. The construction is a bit delayed (due to you know what) but we’ll get there.

I am always encouraged by the efforts of our Young Lawyers Section and this year is no exception. It’s good to see them planning an agenda and keeping the young lawyers engaged.

So while the no-live-meetings thing for 2021 is a disappointment, we hope to back offline (live that is) in January. Meanwhile, we hope to take advantage of our technology to have some great virtual events.

Desmond Sheridan
GBA President, 2021-2022