Succession Planning

Business people are often confused about the differences between succession planning and exit planning. Attorneys are in the unique position of being able to guide their clients through the confusion.

I often run into business people who are confused about the differences between succession planning and exit planning. You are in the unique position of being able to guide your clients through the confusion.

Do Their Chief Finance Professionals Have Good Answers? Many senior associates want to know whether the firm is well-positioned financially to grow and prosper when the current generation of senior partners retires. To get the information they need to value an investment in the firm, they turn to its finance professional.

While growing by acquiring lateral partners and practice groups can be lucrative, it carries many risks. Lateral candidates' projections of the revenue they will bring to a new firm can prove inaccurate, or a particular candidate may simply be a bad fit culturally.

Increasingly, law firms rely upon acquiring lateral partners and practice groups to grow revenue more quickly than they can by increasing output with existing talent. With this kind of money at stake, a prudent firm is constantly on the lookout for ways to hedge against the risks of acquiring laterals. Implementing an effective retirement succession program is one of them.

Attorney retirement and succession planning are critical issues that are often overlooked at the management level of law firms. A key question arises: What should come first, retirement or succession planning? Although they go hand in hand, many firms avoid addressing both.

Attorneys retiring and succession planning are critical issues are often overlooked at the management level of law firms. A key question arises: What should come first, retirement or succession planning? Although they go hand in hand, many firms avoid addressing both.

Firms with aging managing partners should develop a succession plan for transferring clients and management responsibilities (over a five-to-ten-year transition period) to the firm's younger attorneys.