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Many solo and small firm
practitioners avoid putting an estate plan or caretaker/successor plan
in place to deal with the possibility of disability, death, or other
causes which may suddenly interrupt, temporarily or permanently, the
continuity of the attorney’s practice. Operating without adequate
plans and provisions for such contingencies may place in jeopardy not
only the interests of the sole practitioner’s or small
firm’s clients, which are paramount, but may also jeopardize the
financial security of the practitioner’s immediate family, as the
clients may be lost and value of the practice diminished or destroyed as
a result of the practitioner’s absence, where no caretaking, sale,
or succession plan is in place.
Fortunately, guidance to
deal with these situations is at hand. The New York State
Bar Association’s Special Committee on Law Practice Continuity has
prepared a detailed guide for such contingencies. Utilizing some
of that Committee’s key members as authorities on their respective
subjects, the General Practice Section has fashioned this program to
deal with the many business considerations, ethical concerns, estate
planning considerations, and other legal issues which must be factored
into a good continuity plan for your sole practice or small firm.
The course materials consist mainly of the Special Committee on Law
Practice Continuity’s guide on the subject, “Planning Ahead:
Establish an Advance Exit Plan to Protect Your Clients’ Interests
in the Event of Your Disability, Retirement or Death.” It contains
guidelines, FAQs, checklists and sample forms to assist caretaker
attorneys in “planned” situations, whether they are managing
an absent attorney's practice temporarily, or closing or selling the
practice because the absence is of a permanent nature. The guide also
contains suggestions for attorneys in their estate planning and in
establishing their firm's procedures, to make it easier for a caretaker
attorney to effectively accomplish the tasks required. There are
detailed materials in the Guide on the proper retention, transfer, and
destruction of office files, and well as detailed guidance and sample
forms on the topic of sale of a law practice.
Program Contents
· Sale of a Law Practice
· Checklist for Closing or Buying a Law
Practice
· Estate Planning and Business Succession
Issues
Program Speakers
Frank G.
D’Angelo, Esq. (Co-Chair)
Law Offices of
D’Angelo & Begley
--Garden City
Thomas J.
Mitchell, Esq. (Co-Chair)
McCanliss &
Early
--New York
City
Jeffrey M.
Fetter, Esq.
Scolaro Shulman Cohen Fetter & Burstein, P.C.
--Syracuse
Sarah Diane
McShea, Esq.
Law Office of Sarah Diane McShea
--New York
City
Robert L.
Ostertag, Esq.
Ostertag O’Leary & Barrett
--Poughkeepsie,
NY
Total MCLE
Credits 4.0
Ethics MCLE
Credits 1.0
* Each additional person who uses the
tapes for MCLE credit must purchase a copy of the “MCLE
coursebook.”
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