When and How to Close a Law Practice

COLUMN > Member Wellness Corner

By DAN CRYSTAL, Pys.D.

The WSBA Member Wellness Program gets several calls a year from attorneys, paralegals, family members, judges, and friends who are concerned about significant cognitive changes in an attorney. These are some of the trickiest calls we get. The caller is not usually asking our program to provide counseling for the person they have in mind or even for psychological guidance. They often already have doubts about the attorney’s willingness to engage the topic. Their question is whether the WSBA has a process for assessing the competence of an attorney.

I say these are often the trickiest calls for a number of reasons. When we reach out to the attorney in question we often do not hear back. If the attorney does pick up the phone, they are often polite and terse in responding to our unexpected outreach. What makes it even harder is that the name of the person who called us about the attorney remains anonymous. So, unfortunately, this can trigger an uncomfortable response when an attorney is wondering who (and what) prompted us to contact them.

This topic is also hard because, as a psychologist, I am hesitant to weigh in on questions of legal ethics, namely one’s competence to practice. After years of challenging calls in cases that are often dire—attorneys forgetting their clients’ names in court, not showing up for hearings, not completing filings, appearing confused and interacting with non sequiturs—we decided to form a team to better study the issue.

The Ethics, Wellness, and Practice Team combines the expertise of WSBA staff attorneys at the Ethics Line and Practice Management Program with that of the clinicians at the Member Wellness Program. We spent the last year drafting The Law Firm Guide to Closing Your Practice: Guidance on the Right Time and Tools for Lawyers, Families, and Partners. In this guide, we answer questions related to when and how a lawyer should close their practice from several important perspectives: ethical responsibility, logistics on how to get it done, and psychological guidance on assessing warning signs and planning the next stage of life after practice.

I have had the general observation that lawyers are often slow to retire. So much of an attorney’s identity can be tied up in their role as a lawyer. It is understandably hard to give up a practice and reputation that took decades to build. Lawyers are also very conscientious and often cannot picture their contribution to a household without an income. This is one reason we recommend a framework for slowly transitioning out of legal practice. This often means reducing work hours throughout an attorney’s 60s and 70s. Most lawyers find lawyering harder as they get older. They may still be competent to practice but the effort can be a drain and the juice might not be worth the squeeze. When an attorney eases out of their legal career, they have time to experiment with other interests until they find something that may be as satisfying as—or maybe even more exciting than—practicing law.

Of course, we have a chapter on recognizing indicators that retirement may be appropriate. These can range from difficulties with memory to exhaustion. We recommend cognitive assessments for most adults in these scenarios and have a go-to list of evaluators. Cognitive assessments can help identify more significant changes, such as dementia, while also serving as a baseline to compare to down the road. When an attorney experiences cognitive challenges, it may actually be a symptom of depression. This is often referred to as pseudodementia. And the good news is that it is more easily treated.

The Professional Responsibility Counsel on our Ethics, Wellness & Practice Team weighs in on the definition of competence to practice and how this is assessed. We also explore some of the ethical complexities of how to act in your client’s interests in these circumstances. In addition, we address some of the ethical challenges around terminating representation, collecting fees, and returning files. While some of this information may be familiar for attorneys, for those who are concerned about an attorney, it is a convenient summation of legal ethical concepts to consider.

The Practice Management Program section of the guide is perhaps the most straightforward in creating a timeline for implementing this outcome. It reviews what to do with your trust account and liability insurance, sending letters to clients, how to handle document retention and returning client files, and how to access a free consultation.¹1 WSBA practice management advisors are available to WSBA members to provide free, confidential practice management consultations. https://www.wsba.org/for-legal-professionals/member-support/practice-management-assistance#consult. One of the most useful concepts is identifying a backup attorney who can begin taking on matters. This strategy can also provide a backstop in case other health issues or priorities get in the way of lawyering.

The story of retirement is so varied. There is no marked finish line, and the assessment of when to retire varies greatly by individual. Many attorneys transition out of legal work not long after law school, while others confidently report that they wish to die at their desk. There is no single profile for lawyer retirement. Our hope is that we created an offering that will provide useful benchmarks and how-to tools to turn to when you, or people you care about, are exploring these options. 

NOTE

1. WSBA practice management advisors are available to WSBA members to provide free, confidential practice management consultations. https://www.wsba.org/for-legal-professionals/member-support/practice-management-assistance#consult.