Page 7 - Partnership

NYLJ.COM |
Partnership | MONDAY, APRIL 24, 2017 | S7
We are pleased to announce the following new Partners:
Avigael C. Fyman Ryan Goldberg Matthew A. Lampert
Robert A. Maloney Sean McAloon Frank Misiti
Driven to Deliver®
Long Island • New York City • New Jersey www.rivkinradler.com
At Phillips Nizer, when entering into our rst managing partner transition in over 20 years, we appointed the outgoing managing partner to a newly-created role of adminis- trative partner, allowing continued support for the new managing partner for two years. If an outgoing managing partner intends to retire, this should be timed to occur at least a year after she relinquishes the top post. The former managing partner’s continued pres- ence at the rm will be a stabilizing in uence, and she will be an important resource for the new leader.
Practice Area Leadership
Of course, the managing partner is not the only leadership post where succession planning is important. Such planning also is necessary for practice area leaders.
Practice area leaders provide the focus and direction for their departments. A department leader often is the point person for important client relationships, the public face of the rm’s expertise, and responsible for market- ing, training, mentoring, assigning and attor- ney development.
Firm leadership, in consultation with a practice group leader preparing to step aside, should seek out potential successors with attributes similar to those needed for a managing partner. In addition, would-be suc- cessors should be accomplished in their area of practice and be recognized as such both within and outside the rm. Practice area leaders also should have a demonstrated aptitude in business development and men- toring. Much like the transition of rm leaders, practice area leadership succession should be timed so that the incoming and outgoing leaders have ample time to transition the role.
Transitioning Clients
Ensuring that as many clients as possible remain with the rm after a client relationship partner retires may be the most challenging transition issue. After all, the relationship partner has spent years cultivating and ser- vicing her key clients—perhaps while jeal- ously guarding the client relationship from competitors outside the rm and even from colleagues. Not every partner will immedi- ately and enthusiastically embrace the con- cept of slowly letting go of complete control of that relationship.
The relationship partner’s commitment to client transition planning will in part be a function of that partner’s commitment to her professional legacy. It is a point of pride that a key client remains with a rm even after one’s retirement, due in no small part to one’s careful planning. And it is likewise important to many partners that the rm continues to thrive after they retire. In any event, rms need to make clear to their partners that this is a priority issue.
Implementing successful client transitions begins several years in advance. It starts with identifying the attorneys best able to main- tain the client relationship. That assessment will examine a combination of factors, such as practice area expertise and reputation, a track record with the client, and chemistry between the would-be successor and the key client contacts.
Effectively implementing the transition entails giving would-be successors the oppor- tunity to earn the client’s trust. This means including the successor in important strategic calls and meetings and giving them a visible role in matters. The relationship partner also should let the client know when a successful outcome is due at least in part to the succes- sor’s efforts. The successor should also be included in social gatherings with the client to cement the client’s comfort level with her.
Last but not least, the relationship part- ner and her successor need to work closely with the client to determine what the client will need in the future. Lawyers are often tempted to close their eyes and expect the status quo to continue. At Phillips Nizer, we have found that including our successors in
Several years before a manag- ing partner plans to retire from the post, she and the rm’s ex- ecutive committee must begin to identify the persons likely to be best suited to succeed her.
these discussions—especially in our signature practices—has been essential to our repre- senting clients through decades as their own businesses evolve. In one case, we have rep- resented the client for over 55 years, through multiple successful transitions on both sides of the relationship.
Of course, to stay successful—indeed to stay in business—a rm needs to regularly bring in new clients. Successful rainmakers therefore should provide guidance and sup- port for their younger colleagues’ marketing efforts. Rainmakers, especially those nearing retirement age, should introduce their col- leagues to the referral sources and organiza- tions that have traditionally led to business generation.
Implementation
After succession planning is planned for, the hard work has just begun. Implemen- tation will require dif cult conversations. Key partners who are anticipating retirement must be required to implement a succession plan. Firms should consider ways to incentiv- ize cooperation with succession planning, such as rewarding such efforts during the annual compensation exercise or making it a condition of exit or post-partnership payments.
Conclusion
The current tectonic generational shift makes effective succession planning a must for many rms. The time to tackle the chal- lenge is now.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
1. John W. Olmstead, The Lawyer’s Guide to Succes- sion Planning, 3 (American Bar Assoc. Pub., 2016) (citing American Bar Foundation’s “Lawyer Statistical Report”).
EXPERIENCE THE NEW LAW.COM
PERFECT YOUR PRACTICE
Law.com introduces national and regional news by practice area, from the ALM sources you trust. With real time news, powerful insights, and expert contributors, it’s the perfect way to explore the news that matters to you.