Law Practice Management Focus of Book, New Practice Group and Bar Association Committee

With the release of his recent book "The Business Guide to Law: Creating and Operating a Successful Firm", attorney Kerry Lavelle will now find himself more deeply immersed in matters of law firm management.

The firm recently introduced a new Law Practice Management group. According to Lavelle, the new practice area is designed to assist other law firms with key transitions. "One of the things that many people don't recognize is that a law firm is a business and not all attorneys have extensive business experience," he said. "Our new area of concentration will assist firms looking to merge or purchase smaller firms as well as helping established firms transition to new ownership." Lavelle said that transactions like these require experience in the valuation process, taxation, financing and dealing with personnel. "Even two successful law firms looking to merge will likely need outside counsel because the time required to structure these types of deals can get in the way of running their day to day operations, and an objective review of the strengths and weaknesses of the firms adds value."

Because of his knowledge and experience in this area, Lavelle has also been appointed Chairman of the new Law Practice Management sub-committee of the Northwest Suburban Bar Association. "I'm honored to accept this position with the NWSBA and am very excited to get this new committee up and running. We will be planning a full agenda of topics to help member attorneys build their knowledge and skills in the area of practice management."

Earlier this year the American Bar Association published a new book by Lavelle on the topic. "The Business Guide to Law: Creating and Operating a Successful Law Firm" is available via the ABA's website. "It's one of the first books of its kind," said Lavelle noting that while there are many books that focus on starting a law firm, few use a business-centric approach as his does. "In addition to just focusing on starting a law firm as other traditional publications have, this book also takes the reader through business aspects related to the process of growing a firm and ultimately building a transition or succession plan for ownership."

Lavelle Law is located in Palatine with an office in the Chicago Loop. The firm currently consists of 23 attorneys and a support staff of 14 professionals. Information on the firm is available at www.lavellelaw.com.