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Succession Planning Is Essential for Law Firm Survival

By Robert W. Denney
June 29, 2006

A major challenge law firms face today is the continued aging of their partnerships. One of the principal reasons for this is that 'baby boomers' are approaching retirement. While this is a problem for all businesses and professions in the United States, it is particularly serious for law firms because it poses a threat to their future survival. While many senior partners are both physically and mentally able to continue practicing, firms are beginning to recognize that succession planning, for both client and management responsibilities, has become essential if the firms are to continue in existence.

The first succession issue to address is client responsibility. This is a delicate situation for a few reasons:

As noted above, the future health ' and even survival ' of every firm depends, to a great degree, on retaining longtime clients after the attorneys who have worked with them are no longer practicing due to age, disability, retirement or death.

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