SMALL LAW FIRM MANAGEMENT: A PRACTICAL APPROACH

Final Exam, Spring Semester 2000

Instructor: Frederick Hertz

Instructions : This is a closed book exam. The total time for the exam is one and one half hours. There is only one question on the exam, and you are free to structure your answer however you wish. Answer the question in your blue books, and turn in the question and your blue books after the conclusion of the exam. Be sure to put your exam number on your blue books.

Essay Question: You have been operating a solo practice in San Francisco for about two years, and you have been very happy in your practice. You have finally reached some level of financial stability, with enough hourly work to pay your basic bills and provide you with a decent income. You mostly do hourly work, writing wills, family documents, handling some dissolutions, and small business matters. You are also in the middle of discovery on two contingency cases as well. You have one full time employee, a guy who dropped out of law school and who does everything from clerical work to legal research. You share space with three other attorneys in a small office near Civic Center.

You have just gotten a call from Rebecca, a friend from law school who has a cutting edge practice doing licensing agreements for high tech companies. Rebecca desperately wishes to expand her practice to enable her to handle all her work and to expand, as she thinks she is on to a very lucrative area of practice. She wants you to become her partner, and it appears that there is room for her and possibly another assistant in your current location.

Rebecca wants to know, immediately, whether you want to become her partner, and if so, what would need to be done for the two of you to open up an office very soon. Like so many other people in this field, she wants to have answers tonight, as she is considering other folks as potential partners.

You are interested in pursuing this possibility, though you have some serious concerns. Please draft a memorandum to Rebecca, addressing the following issues:

1. What practical steps would need to be taken to combine Rebecca's practice with your existing practice?

2. What changes in your personnel would be needed, and how would you recommend handling these changes?

3. What sort of financial arrangements do you wish to propose for this new partnership?

4. What would your biggest concerns be regarding Rebecca's proposal, and how would you propose handling these concerns?