When a Hold Decision Protects the Practice
Not every assessment ends with a green light. A hold recommendation is still a deliverable when the evidence says the firm would stretch partner coverage thinner than clients will tolerate.
Watch for referral concentration. If most “demand” in a new city is one institutional client, the branch inherits concentration risk rather than a diversified book.
Partner travel fatigue shows up before financial stress. If the draft rota already requires more than one overnight stay per week for the same person, revisit scope before signing anything.
Competitor density alone is not a reason to abandon a city, but it does raise the bar for differentiation: specialty matters, language coverage, or hours that match local institutional schedules.
A hold decision should name the conditions that would reopen the conversation—six more months of origin data, a committed local hire, or a clarified partnership vote. Ambiguous pauses frustrate teams more than clear criteria.