Law Firm Exit and Succession with Keith Atneosen

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 19:51 — 18.2MB)

In this episode, Alay and Keith discuss:

Who should be looking into succession planning.
Defining financial success and leaving a legacy.
Creating enterprise value.
Internal and external succession planning.

Key Takeaways:

When your firm hits a certain threshold, you should reevaluate compensation and ensure it isn’t tied directly and solely to production.
Enterprise value comes when leadership can focus on business growth and company culture, not when they are focused primarily on production.
There is value in simplicity. The more people you work with, the more complicated it can get.
If you can delegate something to someone who can do a task as well as you 80% or more of the time, then it should be delegated away.

Tweetable Moments:

“If a firm wants to grow in size and impact, but also develop enterprise value, there is going to have to be intentional structure of roles and compensation.” — Keith Atneosen
“If you pull yourself out of your firm, what of value is left for someone to buy?” — Alay Yajnik
“The stronger your leadership team is and the more defined and effective your processes are, the higher the probability of success on both internal and external succession.” — Keith Atneosen
“Owning a law firm is a different mindset – you need to be thinking as a business owner. ” — Alay Yajnik

About Keith Atneosen:

Keith Atneosen is the founder of Freedom Summit Consulting LLC and a FocalPoint Business Coach. He assists family business owners with planning and preparing to transition the stewardship of their business. In addition to exit planning, Keith coaches clients in value acceleration and developing the next generation of leadership.

Following over two decades of various management and sales roles in financial services and hardlines retail, Keith founded Freedom Summit Consulting in 2021. He earned his Master of Science in Financial Services through The American College and completed the Executive Development Program through the University of Washington Foster School of Business.

In 2004 Keith’s wife, Lauren, lost her parents in a car accident. Out of this experience, Keith was compelled to help others work through major transitions, steward financial resources, and plan for future life events. He authored the short book “The Life in Your Years” which addresses the importance of stewardship and legacy planning. Keith’s mission is to be a person of purpose, adventure, and resource by providing a trustworthy and innovative perspective that engages, encourages, and empowers others.

Keith and Lauren live in Hayden, Idaho, with their children. They enjoy being involved in church ministries and exploring the outdoors.