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I'm relatively recently barred and I've been hanging my own shingle for a little while. Recently I've been approached about teaming up with a larger firm looking to expand into my particular practice area (IP/Tech). They're suggesting an Eat What You Kill type partnership. I've been reading, and I'm not sure why this would be a good idea for them (or me?). I can see the advantage of having firm resources and being able to expand further, but I'm not sure how this particular firm which has normally participated in criminal, PI, or family law benefits. What are the general thoughts regarding this?

Obviously, they get to cross-sell to your clients. That doesn't necessarily mean you'll have clients that come in and go "I need a patent filed and I need a divorce!" but if you have a client who's happy with your work and, oh yeah, two years later they get a DUI, or a year later they need a divorce, they'll be thinking of the firm they already used. You'll be benefiting from this less than they will, given that people in every industry have issues with DUIs/child support/injuries or know people who will have those issues. But not everyone who slips-and-falls knows someone in IP...far from it.

Also, having an IP/tech practice classes up the joint a little bit and maybe makes them more palatable to a higher net-worth clientele.

Also important to note that "eat what you kill" doesn't mean you only pay for your portion of expenses---it's not necessarily "pay for what you kill." It can mean that you pay 1/10th of expenses because there are 10 partners, but they use them 10x more than you do because they have more business. Keep an eye out for that, especially with regard to advertising costs and fixed expenses like rent and secretaries.

Finally, you should really look at the contract or partnership agreement. That will give you much more helpful information than anyone here could give you based on the phrase "eat what you kill." Read it carefully.

And, of course, you can always ask them what they hope to get out of it.