Law Firm Breakups
and Law Firm Dissolutions
How Law Firm GC Can Help
Law firms break apart and dissolve all the time and for all kinds of reasons. Some law firm break ups are friendly or planned and others may become heated and litigious. Either way, dissolving a law firm is typically not a simple exercise. Ideally, work through the issues without litigation but sometimes litigation happens. Our lawyers have deep experience helping lawyers and law firms through this process.
When lawyers break up, they need to balance the duties they owe to the law firm and to each other and the duties they owe to their clients. Sometimes those duties may conflict. When that happens, all the lawyers need to make sure the clients’ interests are protected first.
Here are just some of the issues that have to be addressed when a law firm breaks up:
- What happens to clients and client matters?
- How are firm assets distributed?
- What happens to firm accounts receivable?
- Will there be fee splits in contingency matters?
- What does the firm do with closed client files?
- How are firm leases and long-term obligations dealt with?
- Who will be responsible for winding up the law firm?
- What about malpractice insurance coverage?
- What are firm obligations with respect to the trust or IOLTA account?
Our firm assists lawyers and law firms on these and all other issues that come up when dissolving a law firm.
