Blog

I’m excited to tell you that my new video series, “Got a Minute? Let’s Talk Retirement,” will launch this week! These short videos will answer questions I’m asked frequently by lawyers and law firms about retirement – including some that many of you sent me in response to my recent request for questions. I will produce and post more videos over the next few months, so please continue sending me questions you would like me to address.

The first 18 videos cover a variety of subjects that present challenges for lawyers and law firms. Here are three examples:

• How will I know when I’m ready to retire?
Paying attention to your practice, workplace, and feelings will give you the clues you need to decide when it’s time to move on.

• How long does a client transition take?
Various factors affect how long it takes to transition clients, but it usually takes longer than you expect.

• How can we motivate partners to prepare successors and transition clients?
Partners are more likely to prepare successors and transfer clients if they appreciate the reasons, incentives and rewards for doing it, firm policies and practices are uniform, transparent and consistently applied, and they feel confident they will be treated fairly.

These and other videos are hosted on YouTube and my website. You can subscribe to the series at https://youtube.com/@idaabbott7166 and receive notifications when…

Got a minute? I’d like to get your input for a new project I’m developing: a series of free, short videos about retirement that will be publicly available online. It will address questions that lawyers and other professionals have asked me over the last few years about preparing for, transitioning into, and improving retirement. It will also deal with issues that law firms have asked about how to discuss retirement, support lawyers who decide to retire, and manage partner succession and client transitions.

I would welcome your responses to brief survey that you can access here. It should take you no more than a minute. It asks you to check off topics you would like to hear about and to add any others that interest you. There are 2 sets of topics – one for people thinking about their own retirement, the other for people who lead, manage or support retiring partners. You may answer either or both sets.

If you would like to discuss any of the questions in greater depth, or if you would like me to call you to discuss my retirement book, course, or services, please contact me.

Collaboration is a hallmark of design thinking, which is at the heart of my book and e-course, Retirement by Design. Thank you for taking a moment to collaborate with me in creating my Retirement by Design video series.

Additional news: Recent Publications

Three Questions…

Notice my new look? I’ve updated my website and newsletter design to reflect that my practice now focuses primarily on retirement strategies for individuals and law firms. This work is a natural continuation of my professional development consulting, as many of my long-term and new clients are at the far end of their career and leadership development journey. Following long, successful careers, many of my individual clients see retirement on the horizon, and law firm clients want to help partners manage their retirement transitions in a smooth, mutually beneficial way.

Refreshing our look also reinforces the need to update attitudes and mindsets about what retirement means today, as people live and stay healthy and productive far longer than ever before. Retirement is no longer viewed as an ending, or a withdrawal from practice because you’re old and no longer valued. Instead, professionals in their 50s, 60s, 70s and older, are leaving full-time practice and using their freedom to pursue new adventures, work in new capacities, contribute in new ways, and learn, grow and enjoy the life they have worked so hard to build.

If you’re starting to contemplate what you might do in the future, then I suggest you start to design your retirement strategy while you’re still competitive and your practice is still thriving. You might not feel fully ready to retire, but waiting too long might put you at a disadvantage. Read below to learn five tips to…