We just wrapped our Spring Summit in New Orleans.
If you missed our New Orleans Spring Summit, don’t miss this exciting session being offered as a webinar on July 22! Register for that webinar if you haven’t already, here. We’re sending all participants a copy of our new book, “The Enterprise Law Firm Model.”
Every time we come out of one of these events, the same thing happens. Attorneys walk off the elevator and say some version of the same sentence: “I had no idea other practices were doing this.” And then, almost immediately: “Why didn’t I know about this sooner?”
That is the whole point of a Summit.
This year, four Academy Members took the stage and did something a little different. Instead of talking in principles or frameworks, they got specific. Each one shared a single idea, a single strategy, a single system that added $25,000 or more to their practices. Not a whiteboard exercise. Not a vendor pitch. Working estate planning attorneys showing you what they built and how they built it.
Here is what they shared.
Gina: A $1.7 Million Practice on a $29 Client Acquisition Cost
No public seminars. No paid advertising at scale. Gina built a $1.7 million practice and has kept her client acquisition cost at $29.
The number sounds impossible until you hear how she did it. The entire system runs on relationships that are already inside the law firm, relationships that most practices never think to structure intentionally. When Gina walked through the mechanics on stage, the room got very quiet. That is usually the signal that something landed.
Ken: Acquiring Law Firms with Nearly Zero Financial Risk
Ken has acquired three law firms. He passed on a fourth.
He walked the audience through the earn-out structure he uses, the terms he negotiates, and why the financial exposure on a deal like this is close to zero when you build it correctly. For any attorney thinking about growth through acquisition rather than organic client development, this session alone was worth the trip.
Ryan: $297,000 in Recurring Revenue from a Client Membership Program
Ryan built a program called FAME, which stands for Free Amendment, Maintenance and Education. Last year it generated $297,000 in recurring revenue.
This is the kind of number that makes you do math on a napkin. What he explained on stage was not just the revenue figure but the structure that makes the program sustainable and the client relationships it creates. Estate planning practices almost never have a recurring revenue line. Ryan has one.
Mark: Why He Raises His Fees Every Time He Tries
Mark has raised his fees every single time he has attempted it.
He spent his time on stage talking about what that process actually looks like, why most attorneys resist it, and what changed for him once he understood the relationship between price and perceived value. He also made the case that AI is not the threat most attorneys believe it to be, at least not for the practices that have done the work of positioning themselves correctly.
What This Has to Do With You
These are not outliers. They are Academy Members operating inside the same framework that is available to you.
The Enterprise Law Firm Model is built on a specific premise: that an estate planning attorney who brings wealth management in-house, serves as both attorney and trusted financial advisor, and builds systems that retain clients across generations is not competing with the market. That attorney IS the market.
Every idea shared in New Orleans came from a practice built on that premise.
San Diego Is the Next Room
Our Fall Summit is in San Diego in October, and we are personally extending invitations to attorneys who are progressive, serious about the future of their practice, and ready to be in a room full of people who think the same way.
There is no other room in the country where you can sit with this many like-minded attorneys who are already generating recurring revenue through wealth management and other in-house services. That is not a marketing line. It is just what the room looks like.
For attorneys approved to attend as VIP Guests, we waive registration fees and include meals. To be considered, you need to be in an area where we are looking to add a Member, and you need to complete the free 6-hour Boot Camp on the fundamentals that need to be in place in a successful estate planning practice. That Boot Camp is worth your time regardless of whether San Diego is on your radar. It is substantive, and it will give you a clear-eyed look at where your firm stands.
If you watched the webinar and you are ready to take the next step, submit your application and we will personally walk you through what comes next.
Send your questions to questions@aaepa.com or call us at (800) 846-1555.
Jennifer Price
Chief Operating Officer
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com
