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Thompson Hine LLP, a full-service business law firm with approximately 400 lawyers in 11 offices, was ranked number 1 in the category “Most innovative North American law firms: New working models” by The Financial Times and was 1 of 7 firms shortlisted for The American Lawyer’s inaugural Legal Services Innovation Award. The firm has been recognized by the National Law Journal as a Legal Technology Trailblazer and featured by Bloomberg for its innovative service delivery models, which drive accuracy and predictability. The firm’s commitment to innovation is embodied in Thompson Hine SmartPaTHTM – a smarter way to work – predictable, efficient and aligned with client goals. For more information, please visit ThompsonHine.com and ThompsonHine.com/SmartPaTH.

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<img style="max-width: 100%;height: auto;max-width: 100%;height: auto" loading="lazy" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-3251" src="https://www.thelawforlawyerstoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/754/2017/04/Last-Will-and-Testament-300x200.jpg" alt="Last Will" width="300" height="200">What if you suddenly became disabled and couldn&rsquo;t&nbsp;handle your law practice?&nbsp; Or, if you were to die, who would&nbsp;deal with&nbsp;your pending matters?&nbsp; Who has the password for your computer?&nbsp;&nbsp;Who knows where you bank?&nbsp; The Ohio&nbsp;Board of Professional Conduct last week published an ethics guide&nbsp;titled &ldquo;<a href="https://www.thelawforlawyerstoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/754/2019/08/Ohio-Board-of-Professional-Conduct-Ohio-Ethics-Guide-Succession-Planning-2017.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Succession Planning</a>&rdquo; that addresses these issues, and it&rsquo;s worthwhile reading if you practice on&nbsp;your own or in a small firm, in any jurisdiction.
Trendlines point to need for planning
Two trends are converging that underscore the topic of succession preparedness:&nbsp; the predominance of solo and small firms, and the graying of the profession.
<ul>
<li>The <a href="http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/market_research/lawyer-demographics-tables-2014.authcheckdam.pdf">ABA reports</a> that in 2005,&nbsp;63% of all&nbsp;private practitioners were in firms of fewer than five people.&nbsp; And 49% practiced on their own.&nbsp; (Seventy-five percent of U.S. lawyers were in private practice in 2005.)</li>
<li>And we are not getting any younger &mdash; in fact, the opposite.&nbsp; The median age of lawyers in 2005 was 49; 13% were over 65 years old.&nbsp; And recent trends are going to increase the proportion of older lawyers:&nbsp; total J.D. enrollment between 2011-12 and 2013-14 decreased by 12%, or by more than 17,000 students.&nbsp; <a href="http://www.nationallawjournal.com/id=1202774844249/Number-of-Students-Enrolling-in-Law-School-Basically-Flat">First-year law school enrollment decreased by 29%</a> between 2010 and 2016, and for the 2016-17 school year&nbsp;it remained flat over the previous year.</li>
</ul>
Be prepared
The Ohio ethics guide&nbsp;notes that &ldquo;failing to plan for the unexpected can result in harm to clients and in confusion and hardship for the lawyer&rsquo;s family, staff and professional colleagues.&rdquo;
Every state&rsquo;s lawyer conduct rules has&nbsp;some version of <a href="http://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/model_rules_of_professional_conduct/rule_1_1_competence.html">Model Rule 1.1</a> and <a href="http://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/model_rules_of_professional_conduct/rule_1_3_diligence.html">1.3</a>, dealing with competence and diligence, and the Ohio guide notes that while having a succession plan is not mandated by the Ohio rules, having a plan &ldquo;can be viewed as a continuation of a lawyer&rsquo;s duty of competent and diligent representation.&rdquo;
Some jurisdictions go further.&nbsp; As of June 2015, the ABA reported that several specifically addressed&nbsp;succession planning in their conduct rules, registration rules&nbsp;or in comments.&nbsp; (A state-by-state chart is <a href="http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/professional_responsibility/mandatory_successor_rule_chart.authcheckdam.pdf">here</a>.)&nbsp; For instance, <a href="https://www.floridabar.org/divexe/rrtfb.nsf/FV/4A31D2835FF12AD685256EA7005B3860">Florida</a> requires the designation of an &ldquo;inventory attorney,&rdquo; who can agree to take action in the event of a lawyer&rsquo;s death or disability.&nbsp; <a href="http://www.in.gov/judiciary/rules/ad_dis/#_Toc477259915">Indiana</a> provides as part of its annual registration process&nbsp;for permissive designation of an &ldquo;attorney surrogate.&rdquo;&nbsp; <a href="http://www.sccourts.org/courtReg/displayRule.cfm?ruleID=407.0&amp;subRuleID=RULE%201.19&amp;ruleType=APP">South Carolina&rsquo;s Rule 1.19</a>, &ldquo;Succession Planning,&rdquo; says that lawyers &ldquo;should prepare written succession plans&rdquo;&nbsp;in anticipation of their death or disability.
What to do &amp;&nbsp;who can help?&nbsp;&nbsp;
The Ohio guide points to several components of a succession plan,&nbsp;which will help avoid the burden on your family and possible prejudice to your clients if the unexpected happens:
<ul>
<li>a written agreement with a designated successor lawyer;</li>
<li>information on the status and location of open and closed client files;</li>
<li>details regarding trust accounts, operating accounts and client ledgers;</li>
<li>location of log-in and password information for office computers, mobile devices, e-mail, voicemail, billing and calendaring systems, online banking, etc.;</li>
<li>location of accounts payable and receivable information;</li>
<li>information on leases, insurance, key vendors and other details needed to wind up a law practice, if needed.</li>
</ul>
Here&nbsp;in Ohio, two city&nbsp;bar associations have specific programs and resources.&nbsp; My hometown bar, the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, has a&nbsp;&ldquo;<a href="http://www.clemetrobar.org/cmba_prod/CMBA/Legal_Professionals/Dispute_with_a_Lawyer/WIP/CMBA/Legal_Professionals/Sections_Committees/Committees/Ethics/1What_If_Preparedness.aspx?hkey=24153127-3969-471c-8786-4715afe8af3f">What-If Preparedness</a>&rdquo; program,&nbsp;with a site that links to a wealth of material, including forms.&nbsp; The Columbus Bar Association has a program called the &ldquo;<a href="http://www.cbalaw.org/CBA_PROD/Main/Resources/Legal-Professionals/Advance_Succession_Registry.aspx">Advance Succession Registry</a>.&rdquo;&nbsp; Details are <a href="http://www.cbalaw.org/cba_prod/files/resources/Advance%20Succession%20Registry.pdf">here</a>.&nbsp; The ABA likewise has<a href="http://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/resources/lawyersintransition/successionplanning.html"> resources and links</a>, including to jurisdiction-specific materials.
Think about the unthinkable
Thinking about death and disability is never easy &mdash; for lawyers or anyone else.&nbsp; But coming to grips with these topics and taking action can put your mind at ease that you have protected your clients and minimized a possible future burden on those you love.&nbsp; That&rsquo;s worth doing, no matter how difficult.

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Ethics

Legal Ethics, Professional Responsibility and the Business of Law

What if?  Ohio board issues succession-planning guide for lawyers