When a law firm is more than just a law firm

How to grow and better meet the needs of clients and ensure we will be here tomorrow are situations faced by all companies. They are also situations that lead to a spectrum of responses: for some, expansion is the preferred path while, for others, the way ahead is to sell the business and give the responsibility to somebody else.

Law firms are in the same boat: some form international partnerships, others stay narrowly focused, while some, for whatever reason, go out of business, a victim of not running the business as a business.

Such a charge could not be levelled against Wildeboer Dellelce LLP, a Toronto-based firm that’s home to about 50 lawyers and which provides services across nine practice areas.

The reason: for the second time in recent years, the firm, set to celebrate its 25th anniversary next year, has expanded the range of its products to include corporate services and bookkeeping.

The partners have acquired a 50-per-cent stake in Numeric Answers, a firm that has been around for 14 years and which employs about 20 people, many of whom are engaged in financial reporting. The others are involved in payroll, controllership, financial strategies, tax compliance and audit preparation. A “CFO to GO” scheme is also one of the products it offers.

The acquisition follows a 2009 decision by Wildeboer Dellelce to set up an exempt market dealer. As a result of the recent acquisition, Numeric will undergo a rebranding: it will now operate as WD Numeric Corporate Services while the non-legal part of the firm’s business will be under the WD Group of Companies. The exempt market dealer will now be known as WD Capital Markets.

So why the moves? Perry Dellelce, one of the founders of the law firm, said: “you have to. Law is changing and we have to figure out ways to add more value to our clients and also to diversify revenue. It’s a big issue and the traditional ways of business development are now challenged.”

And that challenge requires a different approach, given “fee compression and the need to distinguish yourself (from other law firms) at both a service level and a value level,” added Dellelce.

In other words, “alternative and parallel professional services” are being added to the firm’s existing legal services, in the hope that it will not only be retained by more clients but will have “multiple revenue streams from the same client,” said Dellelce. To get there, an extensive cross-marketing campaign will be employed.

Artur Agivaev will run the recently acquired accounting operation. “It differentiates the law firm and represents a more comprehensive service offering to our clients. The common element to the three businesses is the clientele,” he said.

Kevin Dane, a member of the exempt market dealer team, concurs: “A broader offering stands us apart from the competition.”

In adding accounting services, Wildeboer Dellelce is a counterbalance to what accounting firms have done: Deloitte, KPMG E&Y all provide legal services. Some other law firms including Boyle & Co. and Irwin Lowy have set up an exempt market dealer.

Given that the firm is celebrating a major anniversary in 2018, what’s next in the expansion of its portfolio? Dellelce was mum on that topic Wednesday, other than to say the accounting and bookkeeping group will be expanded.

Then he added: “Any professional service that is complementary to the provision of legal services is something we should consider.”

In other words, they may not be done yet.