The sunset clause
Getting ready for your retirement.
By Adrian Hill
A lawyer who plans to retire in the next three years has much to accomplish and many arrangements to make. She has to plan her finances, practice succession, and post-retirement activities.
Consider this partial list of matters that the retiring lawyer needs to deal with: office space, staff terminations, transferring files, client responsibility, transitions on active files and responsibilities, passing on your practice and your goodwill to successors, notifications, filings and insurance.
Small-firm lawyers and sole practitioners face the biggest challenge. These folks are usually very busy with day-to-day practice, family and personal responsibilities. Doing the planning and making the decisions required for retirement often gets put on the back burner. Some small-firm and sole practitioners end up practising indefinitely, simply because they don’t have the time, energy or fortitude to put all their affairs in order.
So, let’s assume that you’ve planned your finances and your succession, and you’re ready to retire in the foreseeable future. What should you expect?
First, many lawyers should expect little support or encouragement from other members of their firm. All too often, we’ve heard stories of lawyers going through the retirement process while their partners and associates exhibited frustration, avoidance and even hostility. Several lawyers have told me of retirements where there was no dinner, lunch or even a final handshake. They simply left the firm on the last day.
It can take real fortitude and determination to follow through with retirement plans when other members of your firm are unsupportive or downright unpleasant. While many larger law firms have established protocols to facilitate, administer and send off their retirees, few small firms have done so.
One of the most difficult decisions is the timing of notification. The more notice you give your partners, associates, and clients, the more grief you might receive. On the other hand, true professionalism requires as much notice as possible. When I retired from my small firm after nearly 30 years, I gave my old and long-standing clients twelve months’ notice, with lesser notice to the less sensitive single files.
You’ll need to plan your post-retirement activities well in advance too – and not just "doing more of your favourite hobby." Be it a volunteer or a paid activity, nearly all newly retired lawyers need to do work of some value for at least the first few years.
Make sure you get more exercise to relieve tension and stress, and to fight off depression. Create routines for at least three weekdays per week, to avoid the freefall of unaccustomed time on your hands. Improve your diet – you have the time to eat right, so no excuses! And watch your use of alcohol and drugs – retirees are the age group most prone to addiction.
LPAC has developed an entire course on planning for retirement and going through the process: It’s Never Too Early to Start Planning – Health Practice and Retirement Issues for Senior Lawyers.
Adrian Hill, LSM, Ph.D. practised law for more than 25 years. As Executive Director of the Legal Profession Assistance Conference (LPAC), he can be reached at Adrian@lpac.ca.
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Le dernier dossier
Se préparer à la retraite.
Pour prendre votre retraite, vous devrez disposer d’un grand sens de l’organisation. Transférer sa pratique n’est pas une tâche facile. Cependant, vous serrez peut-être surpris d’apprendre qu’il faut aussi faire preuve d’une bonne dose de détermination.
Pour plusieurs, retraite ne rimera malheureusement pas avec support et encouragements de la part des autres membres de leur cabinet. Frustration, évitement et attitude hostile peuvent plutôt se trouver au rendez-vous. De nombreuses fois j’ai entendu des juristes me raconter qu’ils n’avaient pas bénéficié d’un dernier souper ou d’un simple au revoir pour souligner leur départ. Ils avaient tout simplement quitté à la fin de la journée en fermant leur dernier dossier.
Qui plus est, il vous faudra prendre au sérieux votre vie après la retraite. Beaucoup de juristes récemment retraités ressentent toujours le besoin de mettre au service de la société ce qu’ils ont appris tout au long de leur carrière. Pensez à vous impliquer bénévolement ou à continuer d’exercer certaines activités rémunérées.
Enfin, assurez-vous d’augmenter votre fréquence d’exercice d’une activité physique afin de combattre le stress et la dépression. Continuez de faire preuve de discipline pour éviter les dangers de l’ennui. Améliorez votre alimentation et surveillez votre consommation d’alcool et de médicaments. Vous avez maintenant tout votre temps alors plus d’excuses! |
