Having a succession plan in place is critical for all attorneys, not just attorneys nearing retirement. As we have all experienced in 2020 with the COVID pandemic and the orders to close courthouses, offices and businesses and begin working remotely with little advance notice, an emergency can arise, a health situation, or other unplanned event that keeps you from being able to serve your clients, move forward with their work and meet deadlines. There are many practice issues to consider. The PBA is your other partner and is here to help you navigate and prepare. We have developed numerous resources that include exceptional CLE programs, information from our law practice management coordinator, Ellen Freedman, who brings decades of experience and is nationally recognized for her expertise in all areas of law practice management, access to our ethics hotline and counsel, Victoria White and over 70 formal and 1380 informal ethics opinions, opportunities to engage and connect with attorneys from all practice areas and all areas of Pennsylvania through our committees, sections, list servs, newsletters and meetings.
Below is just a sampling of the resources related to succession planning available through the PBA. As a PBA member, you have access to MANY more. If you are not a member, we invite you to become a member today!
- Protecting your Practice: Preparing for Disability, Death or Retirement, PBA Law Practice Management article by Ellen Freedman
- Ethical Obligations for Lawyers Working Remotely, Formal Opinion 2020-300, April 10, 2020, Pennsylvania Bar Association Committee on Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility
- Pennsylvania Bar Institute On-Demand CLE: Succession Planning for Lawyers
The recent Pennsylvania Bar Institute (PBI) program "Succession Planning for Lawyers: What Will You Do With Your Practice" is now available as an online, on-demand course. The program is 3 hours long, earning participants 3 CLE credit hours (2 substantive and 1 ethics). Whether an attorney’s practice is litigation-based or transactional - in a large firm or solo practice - the significant importance of developing a succession plan remains. The obligation to prevent neglect of a client matter extends post attorney death, disability, and retirement.
The PBI course includes information on:
With a proper succession plan, attorneys can proactively protect their clients and colleagues in the event of retirement, disability, or death. Register now to discover a strategy for developing a succession plan.
PBA members can access ethics opinions and law practice management information at any time by logging in.
A Succession Planning Guide (20 pages) one of many great benefits available with membership in the PBA Solo and Small Firm Section
And while a current and up-to-date plan is essential to all attorneys – it is particularly important to solo and small firm attorneys who have more limited resources. The PBA Solo and Small Firm Section has invested considerable time into developing resources for solo and small firm attorneys. These resources and MANY others are available to members of the Solo and Small Firm Section.
If you are not a member of the PBA Solo and Small Firm section, below is a sampling of the information available. The cost to join the Solo and Small Firm Section is $40 per year. (Section membership costs are determined by the section leadership and vary. Learn more here.
Succession and Emergency Planning
-
Succession Planning which provides access to the guide, sample documents, forms and language you can use to develop your own succession plan.
-
Closing Your Practice
-
Emergency Planning for Death or Disability
Articles
-
Starting from Step One: Working From Home
-
Lawyers & Employees Working From Home: General Concepts
-
A Word About Zoom for Lawyers
-
Working From Home – Internet Connections
-
Creating an Employee Work From Home Policy
And a library of over 40 educational videos at no additional cost!
If you are not a PBA member, any one of the benefits outlined above – if you find yourself in a situation where you need to use them - can more than cover the cost of your yearly membership. We invite you to become a PBA member and take advantage of the many benefits provided by the Pennsylvania Bar Association, Your Other Partner. Join. Connect. Succeed. 2021.