Things to consider before forming a small-firm partnership

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By David Baugher
Dolan Media Newswires

It’s said that two is company, and three is a crowd.

But for many attorneys, two is the company.

Welcome to the world of the small partnership, where success often depends not only on the legal abilities of the lawyers but also on their ability to get along.

There are secrets to successful pairings.

The right mix

Steven Goldstein, of St. Louis’ Goldstein & Pressman, said it helps if the legal terrain for each partner is related.

“Two people practicing together with totally different practices may not offer the comfort or coverage that they may need,” said Goldstein, who focuses on business and bankruptcy work. “If people are practicing in the same area of law, they can serve as sounding boards for each other.”

Complementary skills

It’s not just legal skills that should be compatible. It’s also nice if each partner has complementary abilities in the practicalities of running a business.

If logistics or computers aren’t the forte of one, it should be a talent of the other.

Agreement beforehand

Leigh Joy Carson, of The Carson Law Firm in Clayton, Mo., said it’s a mistake to let arrangements go ill-defined. She said to leave as little to negotiation as possible.

“One of the things that has to be really clear when you start out is: ‘How are we going to do this?’” said Carson, a family law attorney who now runs her own firm but previously was in a partnership. “The most successful partners I know have very clear financial agreements. The personality characteristics aren’t as important.”

Similar attitudes on billing

Both parties should be comfortable with each other’s spending habits and views on collections, Carson said.

“Are you going to make sure that people pay a trial retainer, or are you going to work with people to take payments?” she asks.

Shared philosophy on advertising

Understanding how each partner wishes to promote the firm can be important, Carson said. Advertising is costly, and views differ on how and when to do it.

Give and take

Alan Steinberg, of Steinberg & Steinberg in Creve Coeur, Mo., said he thinks people who roll with the punches and give a little make better partners.

“You’ve got to be flexible to some degree,” said Steinberg, who handles banking, tax and estate planning.

Time management

One frequently overlooked quality in a partner is how well he or she governs time, said Peter Johnson, of Law Practice Consultants in Boston.

“Time management is important because you are constantly responding to client needs, court needs, transactional deadlines, and you need to be organized,” he said.

Active listening

Empathy can be important to good relations with clients, Johnson said, and that extends to the way partners treat clients.

“It sounds like a Hallmark card, but I spend a lot of my time interviewing clients of law firms to find out what they liked and don’t like,” he said. “One client said, ‘I don’t care how much they know as long as I know how much they care.’”