News & Announcements

Valuing a Contingent Fee Law Firm: A Case Study 

Institute of Business Appraisers publishes Bill Black's article in the Spring 2006 issue of their refereed technical journal, "Business Appraisal Practice"

June 1, 2006 The Institute of Business Appraisers published an article by Bill Black on "Valuing a Contingent Fee Law Firm" in their Spring 2006 journal. This article is based on Black's experience as a court-appointed neutral auditor and valuator engaged to wind up the affairs of a contingent fee law firm in the process of dissolution.  With wide divergence in the positions taken by the parties regarding business value, it was important to identify a solid factual basis and sound methodology for estimating likely outcomes of unresolved cases. The case was successfully resolved before trial, but required innovative analysis and development of a complex financial model of the business.

Among the key issues discussed in the article are:

1.                  Can the “speculative and conjectural” barrier be overcome to establish any value for a contingent fee law firm?

2.                  Can estimates of case value on unresolved cases be tested sufficiently to prove their validity?

3.                  What costs need to be considered in estimating net case outcomes?

4.                  What are likely restrictions on access to information relevant to the value of unresolved cases?

To obtain a copy of the article, you may contact the IBA at www.go-iba.org, or communicate with the author at 770.698.8020 or bblack@analyticalvalue.com .

Valuing Professional Practices

Institute of Business Appraisers asks Black to present a workshop at the IBA National Conference

March 9, 2006 The Institute of Business Appraisers announced that Bill Black has agreed to present a four-hour seminar on "Tough Issues In Valuing Professional Practices" to the Advanced program track at the IBA National Conference to be held June 20-23, 2006 in St. Louis. Black will join nationally-recognized business valuation experts in presenting in-depth education on interesting  current issues.

This seminar addresses some of the challenges in professional firm valuation, using examples drawn from actual engagements in business litigation and divorce cases. It will discuss issues like:

• What are the assets of a professional firm, and how can they be measured?
• Assigning a value to a customer list
• Identifying information sources for professional compensation
• Obtaining market information for sales of professional practices
• Segregating personal and practice goodwill
• Dealing with uncertainty in a contingent fee law firm valuation
• Intellectual property value in a professional firm
• Impact of regulatory considerations on income streams
• Transition periods and earn-out agreements

For an outline of the materials for the workshop, contact Bill Black (770) 698-8020.

Fraud First Aid for NonProfits

GSCPA Litigation and Valuation Section Roundtable discusses current issues

December 14, 2005 In the second of an ongoing series of panel discussions of interesting current issues, Peggy Brockington, Esq., a partner with Strickland Brockington & Lewis, provided an attorney's perspective on why fraud is an increasing problem in nonprofit organizations and offered a number of suggestions on ways to deal with and prevent fraud. She was joined on the panel by Mark Turner and Andrew Hardin, staff executives with the Atlanta Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America, who discussed organizational trauma from fraud as well as steps to recovery. The panel was moderated by Analytical Value Managing Director Bill Black, who asked questions based on his experience as a Certified Fraud Examiner investigating fraud and mismanagement in nonprofits as well as commercial enterprises.

For copies of the materials presented at the roundtable, contact Bill Black (770) 698-8020.

 Analytical Value supports TMA Initiative to Assist Hurricane Victims

November 2005 The Turnaround Management Association has created "TMAssist," a program to bring the skills of TMA members to the devastated region in a way that will do the most good for the largest number. Many businesses are floundering due to difficulties with communications, a lack of employees, damaged facilities, slow responses from agencies that can provide cash, and poor overall leadership. Most affected businesses in the region are unaware of the abilities of turnaround professionals. The plan includes a series of free workshops open to any business owner and to bankers who need to know how to work out loans, complemented by a custom blog to provide for two-way communication and links to new and relevant TMA educational materials. Analytical Value supports this TMA initiative and will coordinate our efforts with the TMA call for volunteers.

Bill Black addresses Georgia Certified Fraud Examiners on data gathering and data sources

November 2005 Analytical Value managing director Bill Black provided a course on data gathering sources and methods to more than 40 Certified Fraud Examiners and guests at the Georgia Chapter's November meeting. The presentation, "What Can You Learn From A Check", summarized information content likely to be found in business or personal records, methods of identifying gaps and patterns in expected information, and provided an update on changes in data availability since "Check 21" legislation created massive disruption in traditional information sources. Black stressed the importance of getting back to basics every once in a while, for as he asked "The questions may remain the same, but how do you know that the answers haven't changed?"