(Credit: Nok Lek/Shutterstock) For Law Firm Succession Planning, GCs Take Matters Into Their Own Hands
"I'm not reliant on any one specific attorney in any area I need assistance," said Utz general counsel Theresa Shea. "If someone were to retire, my primary billing contact might change, but my overall relationship with the firm would not."
June 04, 2024 at 05:29 PM
5 minute read
The original version of this story was published on The American Lawyer
What You Need to Know
- Relationships are key when general counsel begin to plan for the succession of their outside counsel partners.
- Teams of attorneys tend to help general counsel better develop relationships with law firms beyond the originating partner.
- Other GCs focus on recruiting individual subject matter experts rather than specific firms, developing networks to ensure they have the contacts needed to handle specific types of work.
The question of succession planning within law firms doesn't haunt corporate counsel when they look to select their outside counsel. Instead of fearing an unexpected departure or retirement and relying on an attorney's own succession plan, they cultivate their own lines of succession for their outside lawyers, ensuring there is a backup in place to take care of the company's work.
According to a group of in-house legal chiefs, this proactive approach can take two forms, depending on the kinds of work outside counsel performs.
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