Jordan Turk, Attorney & Legal Technology Advisor at Smokeball, recently offered an insightful session on planning for your law firm succession. The big take-away: to ensure the best future for your practice, you need to plan now for the worst—be it a health issue, sale gone sideways, or a natural disaster.
Here's a brief recap of what Jordan covered before you dive into the full webinar recording and slides.
A Guide to Succession Planning: on-demand recording and slide deck
- Duty to report.
- A review of the ethical considerations when it comes to reporting a lawyer that’s mentally impaired and how that responsibility varies by state.
- File Management and Destruction Policies for Transitions
- Best practices for managing your files (including proper retention and destruction policies), a reminder of the ethical obligations, and a checklist to use when a matter is concluded.
- Planned Transitions and Exits
- Traditional methods of transferring client matters, as well as considerations for when you’re ready to sell and tips for valuing your practice.
- Unexpected Cessation of Practice
- How to appoint an inventory or custodian attorney in the event you can no longer practice, with examples by state. Plus a review of other best practices for password management and technology access.
Jordan wrapped by reminding attendees to utilize the resources their Bar offers and to call their malpractice carrier to check on things like how long to retain files. Rules vary widely across states. Plan now for peace of mind.