Is acquisition a good strategy for you and when should you do it?

On course and performing well.
Hitting most of the targets and not far off those.
Doing OK but the lack of capacity in certain areas is holding us back
Things could certainly be better but staffing and expertise limitations mean we struggle to deliver beyond last year's levels
We don't have a business plan. So, I cannot answer accurately.

Notwithstanding the fact that recruitment is always a challenge, we seem to do well in attracting the people we need and want.
There are a few key areas where we seem to have constant challenges in terms of delivering the right numbers and level of expertise.
Recruitment challenges are holding us back from achieving what we otherwise could. This is in more than one key area of delivery.
Succession in certain areas of work is a real worry and some clients are making noises about the effectiveness of our team
We seem to have a high turnover of staff and struggle to replace with good people which means we risk upsetting clients and succession is worrisome in other areas.

Yes – We have several layers in place in all departments.
Yes – We have at least one person lined up for all departments.
Pretty well - Most departments have at least one potential successor in place
OK with gaps - Some departments have nobody or only one person behind the current leader so we know this is a vulnerability
No – there are several gaps where an illness or early retirement could drastically affect turnover and profitability

Yes – We have a clearly defined list of new target places with solid reasoning behind each one.
Sort of – We have an open mind to this should the right opportunity come our way.
No – We are happy with our current spread although flexi working means we will talk to the right people regardless of where they live.
Yes – But our current infrastructure will not support additional offices so we cannot currently act on this.
No – We have no defined plans to grow in any significant way.

Yes – We have a strong service offering and we see new growth being led from new service lines.
Yes – We have a number of key clients who still instruct other law firms for work we cannot currently do. It would be good for turnover and security to capture this work too.
No – We feel our current service line is good/deliberately boutique, notwithstanding it could be stronger in our current key areas.
Yes – But we would be reliant on just one or two new people to drive this as we do not currently have the resources to invest.
No – Our service lines are what they are and there is no need to go beyond what we know.

Absolutely. We have performed well for several years and invested in developing the infrastructure while also building teams and retaining profit for future investment.
Yes. Profitability has been strong for several years and we have made sure to leave a good portion of this within the business for future investments.
Probably. We have had a good few years but we may be a little over-exposed in certain areas of law where a downturn could sting.
Maybe. Despite having financial comfort for several years, the infrastructure remains underweight and partners continue to shoulder both the regulatory and fee earning burdens in full.
Unsure. Regulatory burdens take up too much partner time still and our profitability has been less than 10% which means any financial bumps could have a significant impact.

Yes. Investments over recent years mean we could be up to 30% larger without stretching the current operational systems.
Yes. Our operational infrastructure was designed with growth in mind although we have already grown plenty since that was set up.
Not a huge amount more. We have good people dealing with everything that solicitors shouldn’t be but not much room for growth without having a negative impact.
Not really. Any significant growth would have to be allied to development of back office as well as client services.
No. We already have partners dealing with too much work that is unrelated to client delivery so any more would damage fee income and profitability.

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