Philip Karter shareholder with Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Aughtry. Philip Karter shareholder with Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Aughtry.

Advice for the New Partner

Paul McCartney is purported to have written the melody to "When I'm Sixty-Four" around the tender age of 14. Sir Paul, course, has long since passed the milestone memorialized in that song, and for an increasing percentage of the legal profession's baby boomer generation, it is also passing by in the rearview mirror.

By the same token, what may have been traditional notions of retirement age a generation ago no longer apply with the same degree of uniformity, as an increasing number of lawyers maintain vigorous practices throughout their 60s and into their 70s or even beyond, working in law firms that impose no mandatory retirement age. But regardless of whether firms mandate retirement or not, they all share a common concern, which is how to ensure the preservation and eventual transition of client relationships to the next generation.

Formal written transition plans, though far more common in law large firms (often incorporating mandatory retirement policies), are still less common than one might expect in a profession whose members are often prized and well-compensated for strategic thinking and planning on behalf of their clients. But it behooves even those firms without such formal plans to consider at least the following four critical questions:

  • Are the clients the firm is hoping to transition really clients of the lawyer, or clients of the firm?

Here is presented the age-old question of whether clients hire law firms or lawyers? Certainly, the answer greatly depends on the breadth and depth of the lawyer's relationship with the client. For example, clients whose needs require the services of lawyers practicing in a variety of disciplines may be more reluctant to leave with a departing partner than those for whom that partner's singular oversight of their affairs is irreplaceable. The solution in some cases is that the work simply stays with the lawyer who is handling a particular aspect of the client's business.