f/k/a archives . . . real opinions & real haiku

The brand new July/August 2008 issue of The Complete Lawyer (Vol. 4, No. 4) focuses on Exit Strategies for lawyers — whether it’s retiring from the workplace or finding careers outside the legal profession. (via Diane Levin at The Mediation Channel) The f/k/a Gang has been nagging lawyers for years to prepare for a graceful exit from the profession — especially in our mega-post “the Graying Bar: let’s not forget the ethics” (March 20, 2007), where we stressed the ethical obligation to leave before the infirmities of age harm your clients, and the related need to make financial choices that will permit a timely retirement.

TCL‘s Editor/Publisher Don Hutcheson has again loaded his e-magazine with a bounty of useful articles and columns on the Focus topic, by a diverse group of experts, plus more pieces from regular contributors such as Carolyn Elefant (re solos and small firms), and the ADR “human factor” all-stars, Stephanie West Allen, Victoria Pynchon, Gini Nelson, and Diane Levin, who tell us in this issue “what we have learned from mediation and negotiation that can have broad application in your life and work.

Besides additional targeted material that can be found in 24 local editions of TCL (which can be accessed from the magazine’s home page), you’ll find the following articles (and more) on Lawyer Exit Strategies in the National Edition of The Complete Lawyer:

• “Retirement Readiness: Seven Proven Transition Scenarios” Overcome partnership issues, contractual barriers and psychological hurdles when you design your future. By Shawn McNalis
• “Through the Looking Glass: Why Many of Your Retirement Assumptions Are Wrong” Making some hard calculations today will secure a financially sound retirement—and that’s not a fantasy. By Robert Hockett
• “Get Ready To Get Ready For Retirement” Facing the financial challenges of retirement can pay off in emotional and physical security for the rest of our lives. By Richard M. Weber

• “Don’t Retire! Renew And Reshape Your Life Instead” You have the capacity to write your life’s “next chapter.” By James Frasier
• “Don’t ‘Die At Your Desk’” Become proactive about succession planning. By Stephen P. Gallagher
• “Don’t Neglect Your Reputation When Leaving A Firm” Maintain relationships and protect your rights. By Carolyn Elefant
• “Self-Assess Before Deciding To Leave The Law” Five questions and exercises will reveal key information about you: why your current job is not a good fit, and what you need to have in your next career to be happy. By Anne Whitaker
• “The New Exit Strategy for Today’s Lawyers: Manage Your Own Career” Determine your currency and actively manage your career to achieve success in an increasingly uncertain legal environment. By Arnie Herz

In addition, Dave Polstra’s Financial Matters column contributes “Small Financial Decisions Cast Big Shadows,” which explains how to avoid the debt trap and enjoy financial freedom in your retirement. And The Graying of Lawyers column by Mickey Batsell explains why “Experienced Attorneys Enjoy Advantages In the Job Market.” Plus, Monica Parker, J.D. of Leaving the Law.com, gives you Seven Reasons to Stop Being a Lawyer in her piece, “Before You Choose Your Exit Strategy, Choose to Exit.”

For related articles, take a look at TCL‘s issue of a year ago (Vol. 3, No. 4), which focused on The Graying of the Bar.

retirement options
first ice
rims the campus pond

windowless office
a fly buzzes against
my glasses

In one year
work life ends—drizzle
with the rainbow

…………………………….. by George Swede
“retirement options” & “in one year” – The Heron’s Nest
“windowless office” – Almost Unseen (Brooks Books, 2000)