This previous year, I hung out with little companies discussing their future, concentrating on the subjects of lawyers retiring and succession preparation. These crucial problems are frequently ignored at the management level of law practice. A crucial concern occurs: What should precede, retirement or succession preparation? Although they work together, my experience reveals that lots of companies prevent attending to both.
Remarkably, lots of lawyers of retirement age withstand retiring, a contrast to the basic anticipation towards it. I explored what makes lawyers distinct in this regard. The author of Retirement by Style, Ida Abbott states, “Attorneys who have something to eagerly anticipate in retirement and understand they have lots of choices ahead, easily prepare for it. However some attorneys have actually worked so long, so hard, therefore effectively, that their work has actually become their main source of function, worth and identity.” From conversations with company leaders, 4 primary factors for this resistance emerged:
- Loss of identity
- Unwillingness to leave
- Worries about transitioning
- Failure to succession strategy