What is a personal injury practice worth, and how is it valued?
A personal injury practice is worth what its case inventory is likely to collect, discounted for the time it takes. The inventory is valued matter by matter: the stage, the venue, the expected resolution and the fee each case should produce. The firm’s name, staff and referral relationships matter, but the docket is the asset that can be read.
Why a multiple of revenue misleads. A contingency firm’s revenue arrives when cases resolve, not when work is done. Two firms with the same revenue can hold inventories of very different value, because one holds mature cases in fast venues and the other holds early-stage cases in slow ones.
What the valuation reads. For each matter: how far it has progressed, where it is venued, what similar matters have resolved for and how long they took, and the fee the firm’s agreement entitles it to. The sum, discounted for time, is what the inventory supports.
What sits outside the docket. The firm’s brand, its people and its sources of new cases. They matter to a buyer, and they are negotiated separately from the inventory.
The paths. Succession capital so the next partners buy the founders out. Acquisition capital for a firm buying a practice. An outright sale. A merger with the inventory financed. Structures are built to the rules of the state where the firm practices, and counsel reviews every transaction.
Criterica Capital starts with a written read of the docket, with no obligation. It states what the inventory supports before anyone discusses a price.
Common questions
Do I need to tell my staff or clients?
Not unless you decide to. The inquiry stays with the people working the file.
What does a firm send?
A case list with stage, venue, filed date and expected fee, and a template of the fee agreement.
Is there a minimum size?
No minimum is stated.
Ready to take the next step?