Succession planning for law firms is important for obvious reasons of survival. No less important is planning for who will replace the rainmakers when they retire, and the more marketeres who can step into those shoes the better.
Ed Poll has a post on his blog that addresses this issue. He has several suggestions on dealing with the issue with which I can heartily agree, such as:
*Prepare a business/strategic plan,
*Develop a strategic marketing plan,
*Require individual lawyer marketing plans,
*Have rainmakers introduce younger lawyers to client contacts, and
*Require associates to have a book of business before making them partners
As Ed says “� that’s just for starters.” Succession planning for lawyer marketing should be at the top of every firm’s agenda.