Professional Development: Making Retirement Relevant and Relaxing

When I started practicing law as a Baby Boomer, I rarely, if ever, thought about retirement. I was too consumed with meeting billable hour goals and avoiding malpractice. On those rare occasions when I overheard colleagues discuss retirement, only three visions seemed possible. First, you died at your desk; second; you were physically present at your firm, but had mentally “checked out”; or third, your law firm forced you out at a seemingly arbitrary age. None seemed particularly attractive.

If you ask most attorneys whether they have planned for their retirement, most would answer “of course.” However, for the vast majority that answer would be very misleading. Sure, many have carefully thought about how much money they will need for retirement, but very few have thought about, let alone planned, how to transition from full-time work and what they will actually do when they retire.

Sooner, Rather Than Later

President John Kennedy once said, “The time to put on a new roof is when the sun is shining.” In other words, when it comes to retirement, you need to plan. Too many lawyers assume that their professional development should wind down at the same pace as their practice. Quite the contrary; in order to achieve a successful transition into retirement, one's focus on professional development should be no less than it was when building your practice.

Why? First, whatever your retirement goal is, the chances are very good that it will require a few years to lay the groundwork to successfully make the change. Second, your colleagues may need to make some adjustments in how they manage their practices. Third, transitioning your clients will go smoother. With proper planning, you can determine and accomplish the most appropriate professional development objectives that you and your colleagues need to achieve.

Is It Time?

The first component of any retirement plan is “when.” The answer is never simple. Think about:

• Do you still look forward to going to work or have you had enough?
• Will your law firm insist that you stop practicing with them at a certain age?
• Does your law practice interfere with hobbies, volunteer work, travel, or other activities that you would rather spend your time on?
• How is your physical health?
• Do you still have the mental edge?
• How healthy is your spouse/partner or other significant relatives? Will you need to care for anyone?
• What is the status of your spouse/partner relationship? Is it “for better or for worse, but not for lunch?”
• Can you afford it?

There's no magic formula to determine the best time to retire. At the end of the day, the decision is a guestimate. Everyone will prioritize the factors differently. Furthermore, many of the answers are predictions and could prove to be wrong with little advance notice. What's important, however, is to at least think about them and do the best you can to determine a time that “feels” right.

What Do I Do?

There are more possibilities than you think, many of which can be done on a part-time basis. Here's just a sampling of opportunities where you can still remain connected to the legal profession and in many cases, earn money:

• Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) ' mediation and/or arbitration
• Expert witness
• Politics
• Academia

Of course, nothing says you have to do something related to the law. Depending upon your interests, there could be some opportunities in corporate America or you can even start your own business. If money is not a consideration, perhaps now is the time to start doing pro bono work or ramp up earlier efforts. There are certainly lots of other ways to give back that don't involve practicing law. Organizations in areas that might interest you include:

• Religious;
• Social services;
• Hospitals;
• Civic;
• Education/youth services and sports;
• Environmental; and
• Cultural arts

You've worked hard. There's nothing that says you have to continue to work or volunteer during your retirement. You're entitled to be selfish. Here's a reminder of the activities that many find relaxing during retirement.

• Spend time with family/friends
• Travel
• Hobbies/arts/exercise/sports/games
• Go back to school (grad. courses, elder hostels)
• Be a couch potato (books, movies, TV, Internet)

What Are the Next Steps?

Time for some serious due diligence. Are your retirement goals realistic? Start by doing basic research on the Internet. Read some books and articles. Then, get out and talk to people, especially those who have retired. Chances are very good that someone you know, directly or by association, had similar retirement goals that you have. Did it work? What went right; went wrong? How much groundwork had to be laid? Was it enough time? Meet with them and have the conversation. You'll find that acquaintances and strangers alike will be more than happy to share their experiences with you.

Create a professional development action plan with goals that are SMART: Specific. Measurable. Action-oriented. Realistic. Time-sensitive. In many instances, some of your goals will require you to “practice” retirement; in other words, get some experience doing some of the things you are planning to do and see if you like it. Also, start to think about the obstacles you might face in achieving your goals and how you'll get around them. If you are patient, flexible, and disciplined, your retirement will be as relevant and relaxing as you planned.

A practicing lawyer for more than 25 years, Roy Ginsburg is a coach, career counselor, and CLE speaker. Reach him at www.royginsburg.com.

When I started practicing law as a Baby Boomer, I rarely, if ever, thought about retirement. I was too consumed with meeting billable hour goals and avoiding malpractice. On those rare occasions when I overheard colleagues discuss retirement, only three visions seemed possible. First, you died at your desk; second; you were physically present at your firm, but had mentally “checked out”; or third, your law firm forced you out at a seemingly arbitrary age. None seemed particularly attractive.

If you ask most attorneys whether they have planned for their retirement, most would answer “of course.” However, for the vast majority that answer would be very misleading. Sure, many have carefully thought about how much money they will need for retirement, but very few have thought about, let alone planned, how to transition from full-time work and what they will actually do when they retire.

Sooner, Rather Than Later

President John Kennedy once said, “The time to put on a new roof is when the sun is shining.” In other words, when it comes to retirement, you need to plan. Too many lawyers assume that their professional development should wind down at the same pace as their practice. Quite the contrary; in order to achieve a successful transition into retirement, one's focus on professional development should be no less than it was when building your practice.

Why? First, whatever your retirement goal is, the chances are very good that it will require a few years to lay the groundwork to successfully make the change. Second, your colleagues may need to make some adjustments in how they manage their practices. Third, transitioning your clients will go smoother. With proper planning, you can determine and accomplish the most appropriate professional development objectives that you and your colleagues need to achieve.

Is It Time?

The first component of any retirement plan is “when.” The answer is never simple. Think about:

• Do you still look forward to going to work or have you had enough?
• Will your law firm insist that you stop practicing with them at a certain age?
• Does your law practice interfere with hobbies, volunteer work, travel, or other activities that you would rather spend your time on?
• How is your physical health?
• Do you still have the mental edge?
• How healthy is your spouse/partner or other significant relatives? Will you need to care for anyone?
• What is the status of your spouse/partner relationship? Is it “for better or for worse, but not for lunch?”
• Can you afford it?

There's no magic formula to determine the best time to retire. At the end of the day, the decision is a guestimate. Everyone will prioritize the factors differently. Furthermore, many of the answers are predictions and could prove to be wrong with little advance notice. What's important, however, is to at least think about them and do the best you can to determine a time that “feels” right.

What Do I Do?

There are more possibilities than you think, many of which can be done on a part-time basis. Here's just a sampling of opportunities where you can still remain connected to the legal profession and in many cases, earn money:

• Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) ' mediation and/or arbitration
• Expert witness
• Politics
• Academia

Of course, nothing says you have to do something related to the law. Depending upon your interests, there could be some opportunities in corporate America or you can even start your own business. If money is not a consideration, perhaps now is the time to start doing pro bono work or ramp up earlier efforts. There are certainly lots of other ways to give back that don't involve practicing law. Organizations in areas that might interest you include:

• Religious;
• Social services;
• Hospitals;
• Civic;
• Education/youth services and sports;
• Environmental; and
• Cultural arts

You've worked hard. There's nothing that says you have to continue to work or volunteer during your retirement. You're entitled to be selfish. Here's a reminder of the activities that many find relaxing during retirement.

• Spend time with family/friends
• Travel
• Hobbies/arts/exercise/sports/games
• Go back to school (grad. courses, elder hostels)
• Be a couch potato (books, movies, TV, Internet)

What Are the Next Steps?

Time for some serious due diligence. Are your retirement goals realistic? Start by doing basic research on the Internet. Read some books and articles. Then, get out and talk to people, especially those who have retired. Chances are very good that someone you know, directly or by association, had similar retirement goals that you have. Did it work? What went right; went wrong? How much groundwork had to be laid? Was it enough time? Meet with them and have the conversation. You'll find that acquaintances and strangers alike will be more than happy to share their experiences with you.

Create a professional development action plan with goals that are SMART: Specific. Measurable. Action-oriented. Realistic. Time-sensitive. In many instances, some of your goals will require you to “practice” retirement; in other words, get some experience doing some of the things you are planning to do and see if you like it. Also, start to think about the obstacles you might face in achieving your goals and how you'll get around them. If you are patient, flexible, and disciplined, your retirement will be as relevant and relaxing as you planned.

A practicing lawyer for more than 25 years, Roy Ginsburg is a coach, career counselor, and CLE speaker. Reach him at www.royginsburg.com.