This past year, I spent time with small firms discussing their future, focusing on the topics of attorneys retiring and succession planning. These 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, my experience shows that many firms avoid addressing both.
Surprisingly, many attorneys of retirement age resist retiring, a contrast to the general anticipation toward it. I explored what makes attorneys unique in this regard. The author of Retirement by Design, Ida Abbott says, “Lawyers who have something to look forward to in retirement and realize they have many options ahead, readily plan for it. But some lawyers have worked so long, so hard, and so successfully, that their work has become their primary source of purpose, value and identity.” From discussions with firm leaders, four main reasons for this resistance emerged:
- Loss of identity
- Reluctance to leave
- Fears about transitioning
- Failure to succession plan
