How to examine client concentration, rates, conflicts, shared relationships, and timing without treating a portable book as guaranteed revenue.
Portable business is an estimate of work that may follow a lawyer or group, not an asset that transfers automatically. Clients decide whom to retain. A useful assessment examines what could happen under different conditions rather than presenting one optimistic revenue number.
Start with consistent historical information
Distinguish billed amounts, collected amounts, and work in progress. Explain the period covered and any exceptional matters. For a group, reconcile shared clients so the same relationship is not counted repeatedly.
Historical performance can inform a discussion, but it does not establish what a client will instruct after a move. Avoid suggesting certainty simply because the underlying records are accurate.
Examine concentration
Identify how dependent the practice is on a small number of clients, matter types, or referral relationships. A large anchor relationship may support the case for moving while also creating significant downside if it cannot transfer.
Ask how the practice would operate without that work. This is not an instruction to discount every estimate by a fixed percentage; it is a way to understand which assumptions matter most.
Use three practical scenarios
A base scenario should state the assumptions supporting expected activity. A downside scenario can test delayed intake, a client remaining behind, or reduced staffing. An upside scenario may examine additional work only where there is a specific rationale—not a generic promise of cross-selling.
Explain the dependencies behind each scenario. Do not assign artificial probabilities when there is no reliable basis for them.
Test the destination's economics
A client willing to follow may still require rate, staffing, or billing arrangements that differ from the new firm's defaults. Examine realized economics rather than assuming the firm's published or standard rate will apply.
Timing matters too. Conflicts clearance, engagement documentation, and client procurement can affect when matters begin and when cash is collected. Those timing questions should inform the discussion of compensation expectations.
Respect information boundaries
Detailed portability work can involve sensitive client information. Agree on what is needed at each stage and obtain guidance before disclosure or client contact. A confidential search does not eliminate professional duties or make every disclosure permissible.
Illustrative anonymized information may help frame an early discussion, but even anonymized details can identify a distinctive practice.
Use the model to make decisions
The purpose is to compare platforms and expose dependencies. A firm that supports a credible downside case may be more suitable than one that offers attractive terms based only on the upside.
Review the model when the proposed team, client circumstances, or destination changes. Read our portability FAQ, firm evaluation guide, and partner compensation answers.
This is general educational guidance from Vortex Legal, not individualized legal, tax, or financial advice. Your agreements, circumstances, and applicable professional rules require separate review.
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