When someone is particularly knowledgeable, it’s often said that they “wrote the book” on a particular subject. In the case of Laura Howard, co-chair of our Architecture, Engineering & Design Professional Firms practice, that’s literally the case.

Laura and retired Fox Rothschild Partner Bill Mandel were major contributors to Architect's Essentials of Starting, Assessing and Transitioning a Design Firm, published by John Wiley & Sons, the leading text on the establishment of, succession planning for and ownership transition of architecture firms.

An indispensable resource, the book removes the guesswork from the process of launching, buying, selling and merging design firms, providing valuable insights on key milestones in firm creation and ownership transition. It features highly focused, specific advice on important aspects of ownership transition, including candidate selection, valuation, transfer mechanisms and implementing an ownership transition program.

The book is part of a series of volumes on the business of architecture. Bill is a featured co-author, while Laura is credited in the acknowledgements.