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.”