Succession Planning Unlocked: Mastering the Transition From Leadership to Legacy

This is a practical and comprehensive look at the many and various factors and risks which must be considered when the practicing attorney is contemplating retirement. This presentation examines the realities faced by the potential retiree as well as the hopes and desires that the retiree has concerning his or her upcoming retirement. Some of the realities addressed are issues such as the risks involved in winding up a law practice, malpractice insurance, and how health and finances will impact your decision. Some of the desire issues relate to whether it is the right time to retire, how it will impact your family, and how do your personal interests factor into the question of when.

This presentation takes a broad view and asks not only how to achieve a rewarding retirement but how to avoid the many pitfalls one may face in the transition. This presentation also examines the possible activities which will be available to you after retirement. It is an insightful, thoughtful and thorough tour de force of the multi-faceted issues and risks facing the attorney who is considering retirement in today’s complex world.

Topics covered include:

Law Practice Law Firm Management Legal Ethics Solo Practice & Small Law Firms

Agenda:

Introduction

Consequences of failing to have a plan

The Day Will Come When...

Recognizing age-related challenges and tips on how to address them
The importance of growing old gracefully
The necessity of naming a successor/backup attorney

RPC 1.3 Diligence

Steps to take in the event a successor attorney must step in

Succession/Retirement Planning Starts With When

Identifying realities and desires
(For firms of 2 or more attorneys) Don’t dismiss Rule 5.1 We are our partners’ keepers

Putting What Comes Next Into Perspective

Preparing starts with asking the right questions

The Critical Question
- Identifying Options – Stay connected to the profession or time for something new
Closing a Practice
- Thorough discussion of the process
Gradual Transitions (Of Counsel) and Tail Coverage
- What Of Counsel relationships are and aren’t
- What tail coverage is and isn’t
- How to avoid tail coverage missteps
File Retention and Destruction Issues
- Where to keep, how long, and who to contact
Attorney Departure Concerns for Firms
- Managing the transition, preventing the loss of intellectual capital, and preserving revenue
You Can Sell a Practice
- Identifying the ethical issues that must be addressed
Questions & Answers (as time permits)

Duration of this webinar: 90 minutes

When: Premieres in 26 days | May 16, 2025 11:00 AM PT

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Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Credits

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California CLE

Status: Approved

Credits: 1.50 Legal Ethics

South Carolina CLE

Status: Approved

Credits: 1.50 Legal Ethics/Professional Responsibility

Difficulty: All Levels

North Carolina CLE

Status: Approved

Credits: 1.50 Ethics

Texas CLE

Status: Pending

Credits: TBD

This presentation is approved for one and a half hours of Legal Ethics CLE credit in California, one and a half hours of Legal Ethics/Professional Responsibility CLE credit in South Carolina (all levels), and one and a half hours of Ethics CLE credit in North Carolina. An application for accreditation of this activity has been submitted to the MCLE Committee of the State Bar of Texas and is pending.

Justia only reports attendance in jurisdictions in which a particular Justia CLE Webinar is officially accredited. Lawyers may need to self-submit their certificates for CLE credit in jurisdictions not listed above.

Note that CLE credit, including partial credit, cannot be earned outside of the relevant accreditation period. To earn credit for a course, a lawyer must watch the entire course within the relevant accreditation period. Lawyers who have viewed a presentation multiple times may not be able to claim credit in their jurisdiction more than once. Justia reserves the right, at its discretion, to grant an attendee partial or no credit, in accordance with viewing duration and other methods of verifying course completion.

At this time, Justia only offers CLE courses officially accredited in certain states. Lawyers may generate a generic attendance certificate to self-submit credit in their own jurisdiction, but Justia does not guarantee that lawyers will receive their desired CLE credit through the self-submission or reciprocity process.

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Speaker

Mark Bassingthwaighte Risk Manager
ALPS Insurance

Since 1998, Mark Bassingthwaighte, Esq., has been a Risk Manager with ALPS, the nation’s largest direct writer of lawyers’ malpractice insurance. In his tenure with the company, Mr. Bassingthwaighte has conducted over 1200 law firm risk management assessment visits; presented over 650 continuing legal education seminars throughout the United States; and written extensively on risk management, ethics, and technology. Mr. Bassingthwaighte is a member of the State Bar of Montana as well as the American Bar Association where he currently sits on the ABA Center for Professional Responsibility’s Conference Planning Committee.

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