Buying a law practice in Southwest Florida

• A steady flow of new work from referral sources and marketing, not only the selling lawyer's own network.
• Practice areas with repeat work, such as estate planning that leads to probate, or business clients with ongoing needs.
• Trust accounts reconciled every month, with no unexplained balances.
• Organized digital files and reliable practice management software.
• Experienced paralegals who know the clients and procedures and plan to stay.
• Fees that actually get collected, not just billed, with little owed by former clients.
• A website, reviews and listings that bring in new clients under the practice's name.
• A seller willing to stay on, introduce you to clients and referral sources, and answer questions.

• Trust account records: the monthly reconciliations the Bar's trust accounting rules require (Rule 5-1.2), each client's ledger and any shortfalls. Money in trust belongs to clients, not the practice, and problems there are serious.
• Open cases, court deadlines and statute of limitations dates, so nothing slips in the handover.
• Conflicts of interest between the seller's clients and your own, checked before closing.
• Past malpractice claims, and coverage for the seller's past work after closing.
• Contingency cases: put in writing how each fee will be split between seller and buyer.
• Where new clients come from, and whether the practice's advertising follows Bar rules.
• Who will hold the original wills and closed files, and how long files must be kept.
• Unpaid bills, and how much of what's billed clients actually pay.

• Where did your last 50 new clients come from?
• Which clients will expect to keep working with you personally?
• How long will you stay to introduce me to clients and referral sources?
• Who reconciles the trust accounts, and how often?
• Have you had any Bar grievances or malpractice claims?
• What happens to cases still open when we close?
• How many original wills and closed files do you hold?

This region covers Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Sarasota and Manatee counties on the Gulf coast and Hendry, Glades and DeSoto inland: Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Naples, Bonita Springs, Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte, Sarasota, Venice, Bradenton, LaBelle, Clewiston, Moore Haven and Arcadia. The coastal economy runs on people who choose to live or spend the winter here: retirees, seasonal residents, and the construction, real estate, health care, financial and home services that follow them. Tourism, golf and boating add to it.

Inland, the economy is agricultural: sugarcane around Clewiston, citrus, cattle and vegetables, with Immokalee in Collier County a center for farm work. The building trades, pool, landscaping and pest control companies, property managers, medical and dental practices, and marine businesses tend to do well along the coast.

This is one of Florida's most seasonal markets. From roughly January through April, restaurants, shops and service companies run at full speed. Summers are slower, so look at monthly revenue, not only the yearly total. The coast has taken two major hurricanes in recent years: Ian came ashore at Cayo Costa in Lee County in September 2022, and Milton at Siesta Key in Sarasota County in October 2024. Rebuilding brought a wave of work for contractors that won't last forever, so ask how much recent revenue came from storm repairs. Insurance costs and flood zones weigh on every property.

Housing costs near the coast make hiring hard, especially around Naples. New communities east of Interstate 75 in Lee, Collier, Charlotte and Manatee keep service companies busy.