Solos and Small Firm Owners: Don’t Delay Your Succession Planning
July 4th, 2025
Succession is perhaps the most significant long-term challenge facing soon-to-be-retired, baby-boomer solo practitioners and small law firm owners. This is understandable, as a variety of psychological and emotional factors stack the odds against you laying the foundation for a smooth transition. ... Read More
Categories: Retirement/Succession
The Lawyer’s Brain in Retirement: What Changes and Why It Matters
June 13th, 2025
Decades of legal practice mold the brain. But when the work stops, the brain begins to change, bringing consequences that are rarely discussed but widely felt. The legal profession demands constant mental engagement. Over time, this sharpens a lawyer’s ability to anticipate problems and navigate complexity with precision. But emotional transitions don’t follow the same process. ... Read More
Categories: Retirement/Succession
Valuing & Distinguishing Goodwill When Planning Your Firm’s Succession
May 23rd, 2025
When it comes to planning your law firm’s succession, a primary area of concern for your successor is whether your clients will choose to work with that successor after you leave. One way to assess that is to evaluate the type of goodwill that exists with your clients and whether that goodwill carries any transferrable value. ... Read More
Categories: Retirement/Succession
Trump v. The Legal Profession
May 2nd, 2025
If you’re like me, you have been scared to read the newspaper (the few who still do) or check your favorite online news source to learn what the Trump administration has done and continues to do to the legal profession. ... Read More
Categories: News
Tail Coverage for Retiring Solo Attorneys: Why You Need It and How It Works
April 22nd, 2025
You have spent years building your practice, but what happens when you step away? For solo attorneys, retirement is not just about closing cases and notifying clients. It’s also about ensuring peace of mind, knowing that nothing from your past practice will come back to haunt you. This includes malpractice claims that could surface years after you stop practicing. ... Read More
Categories: Retirement/Succession
Preparing for the Unexpected & the Inevitable: Law Firm Succession Planning for Disability & Death
April 2nd, 2025
Lawyers are notorious for thinking of ways things can go wrong for their clients and then determining the best ways to protect their clients from them. One calamity few lawyers ever consider, however, is their own unexpected disability that puts their career on hold—or worse, their death. ... Read More
Categories: Retirement/Succession
How Lawyers Are Becoming Investors - And Why It Matters
March 20th, 2025
Lawyers aren’t just advising private equity (PE) firms anymore, they’re becoming investors themselves, taking a page straight from the PE playbook. While the legal profession debates whether PE should own law firms, some lawyers have already made their move, quietly stepping into the role of investors themselves. ... Read More
Categories: Selling Your Practice
What Happens to Your Website if You Sell Your Practice?
March 5th, 2025
If your firm is like many solo and small law firms, a significant portion of your firm’s value derives from the amount of business your website generates. When selling a law firm—be it an actual sale or a transition to another firm as “of counsel”—it is therefore critical that the buying firm retains the benefit of the seller’s previous website traffic. ... Read More
Categories: Selling Your Practice
Retiree Pay
February 19th, 2025
It should come as no surprise that many of today’s successful small to medium-size law firm founders are Boomers who are retiring in unprecedented numbers. These leaders hope to cash out and enhance their retirement nest eggs through either buyout payments from younger partners, or contractual post-retirement formulaic obligations that resemble pension payouts. ... Read More
Categories: Retirement/Succession
Can Rural America Reverse the Legal Desert Trend?
February 18th, 2025
Much of rural America can be described as a legal desert — vast distances where attorneys are few and access to justice falls short. For years, small towns and remote communities have struggled to attract and retain lawyers, forcing residents to navigate legal issues with little to no professional guidance. While these challenges aren’t new, recent demographic shifts and systemic barriers are adding a new layer of complexity to the mix. ... Read More
Categories: Retirement/Succession
