Why and how to set up a multi-professional practice company (MPC) ?

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Although the road has sometimes been long, few of those who have taken up the challenge of the SPE regret having travelled it. An attractive one-stop shop for customers and talent, the SPE is a business project that needs to be well anticipated and prepared.

What are the advantages of an MPC ?

– Improve through emulation

« Discussing and sharing views and expertise on joint projects helps us to be more relevant and efficient. Everyone retains his or her independence and specificity, and it’s this marriage of differences that makes the group strong. » (Gaëlle Loinger-Benamran)

The fact that two professionals have « the same level of knowledge of their common customer » enables them to « exchange ideas and provide better support together ». (Maxime Soulignac, chartered accountant in an SPE with a lawyer, Compta online)

– Attracting new customers

SPEs make life easier for customers by offering them a one-stop shop from which they can access a whole range of services: “Customers really appreciate the added value we can bring them thanks to our combined expertise and synergies. We’ve also been able to win over new customers who immediately embraced our vision.” (Gaëlle Loinger-Benamran).

« Imagine the strike force of a company specializing in wealth management and bringing together lawyers, notaries and chartered accountants » (Guillaume Boulan, lawyer and head of the Eurojuris network).

– Pooling resources

The economies of scale enabled by an SPE are far from negligible in terms of office space, IT services, communications and human resources. This can enable small structures with no budget margins to dedicate to these « ancillary » items, to increase their visibility.

– Attractive employer brand

« With a total of 500 people in our SPE, we have significant recruitment capacity, which attracts talent, sometimes from far away, and fosters prospects for advancement » (Jean Boisson, member of an SPE bringing together lawyers and a firm of chartered accountants and statutory auditors since 2019).

In addition to increasing staff numbers and the communications budget, the SPE is also an original practice structure that can attract people weary of the traditional model.

– Solidity

If well managed, the association can provide greater resilience in the event of a drop in sales, as was the case with the covid crisis : « If I still had the slightest doubt at the beginning of the year about the strength of our structure, the health crisis and the confinement would have definitively removed them ! » (Jean Boisson)

What are the points to watch ? What about ethics ?

– Make sure you share the same values

Like firm mergers, SPEs will only be successful if the partners are sure of their compatibility beforehand: « We are associated with lawyers with whom we had already been working for around ten years. We took some time before finalizing our partnership, to confirm our compatibility and affinities in terms of projects and resources. » (Gaëlle Loinger-Benamran)

– Defining a common business project

The SPE is the most advanced form of interprofessionality, and it’s important to be clear about the purpose behind the approach. Joining forces for the sake of joining forces “is pointless; you need a project, an economic rationale, a target, a – often niche – market” (Soirée Village de la justice, 2018).

« The creation of such a structure, however relevant, requires a complete audit of one’s activity and a clear definition of one’s objectives before initiating exchanges with potential partners, taking the time to get to know each other to take stock of everyone’s skills around a common entrepreneurial project. » (Audrey Chemouli)

– Anticipating technical difficulties

Many of the technical difficulties involved in setting up an SPE can be anticipated thanks to the guide and the experience of the pioneers:

« We need to anticipate the organization of the SPE with great rigor, to compartmentalize what needs to be compartmentalized and avoid conflicts of interest. This requires very concrete measures, such as a secure back office. We have a team of 10 people headed by a CIO to ensure that lawyers and chartered accountants do not have access to information to which they are not entitled ». (Jean Boisson)

– Preparing customers

Some professions, such as notaries, have had clients for generations. You will need to be particularly vigilant in communicating with them to explain your project, check that they are on board, and reassure them that they will continue to be free to choose their own professionals.

– Getting support

While the guide will shed light on many previously obscure points, setting up an EPC is still a long-term project.

« You have to be aware that setting up an EPC takes a lot of time and raises a number of issues that must be anticipated. In my opinion, it’s essential to be accompanied by seasoned professionals (lawyers to draw up the articles of association and partnership agreements, chartered accountants/asset auditors to value the various activities that may already exist within the SPE, etc.) ». (Gaëlle Loinger-Benamran)

*Gaëlle Loinger-Benamran, an industrial property attorney, is co-founder of TAoMA Partners, one of the first multi-professional firms to bring together lawyers and industrial property attorneys. As President of the Future of the Profession and Digital Commission of the CNCPI (Compagnie Nationale des Conseils en Propriété Industrielle), she took part in the drafting of the guide on SPEs. A member of the Emerize think-tank, dedicated to the legal and accounting professions, she recently gave an interview there, from which the quotes in this article are taken.