|
A maxim from Lao Tzu goes:
If you are depressed, you are living in the past.
If you are anxious, you are living in the future.
If you are at peace, you are living in the present.
Almost everyone I have ever met lives with some anxiety. This relates to their desire to be "perfect." Perfection is seldom, if ever, attainable. That does not, however, change our desire to reach that standard.
And the most successful lawyers I have met live in the present, in peace, while still keeping the "edge." By doing so, they seek to attain the highest standards of excellence, though never reaching perfection.
LAST 4 DAYS AT 40% OFF! Do you need to value/price/market your firm? See our 4 CD special below.
You can also list your law firm for sale with us.
lawbiz.com
|
Immortality in Law and Life
"I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying," said Woody Allen.
Alas, many lawyers seem to want to achieve immortality through both avenues: they want to keep working because their work is their identity; and they keep working because they ignore their own mortality, risking, in effect, their very immortality by not planning to sell their law practice.
A prospective client who is seventy-three years of age and still practicing recently contacted me. He was told to do so by the lawyer who created his family trust, but he wasn't quite sure why.
Together, the client and I looked at the client's situation from the perspective of the family trust lawyer. From that vantage point, it was clear that the family trust lawyer wanted to make sure that my prospective client's entire wealth was properly protected; this lawyer was making sure that he was not guilty of malpractice in failing to address the entire picture for the client.
We then looked at my prospective client's situation from the perspective of his wife. She had encouraged him-in fact, insisted-that he follow the advice of the family trust lawyer in contacting me. She was intent on having her husband monetize his law practice before he died. And she was rightly concerned that if he failed to address this issue, he would leave her a mess, one with little or no value. It's tough enough to deal with the grief of losing a loved one; it's worse if you also have to address issues of closing his/her business when you were not involved in it.
My prospective client and I then looked at his situation from his perspective. He wanted to continue to practice law and had no desire to sell the practice. Bluntly but honestly, I suggested that he was being selfish by not considering the monetization of his practice for the benefit of his heirs. He could continue to practice law while still dealing with the economic issues, but that never was considered.
Retirement at the appropriate time is far from the worst scenario for a lawyer. Worse is mortality (and the dire family consequences) before immortalizing the law practice through its monetization.
|
Law Firm for Sale |
The Complete Audio Guide to Selling Your Practice
LAST 4 DAYS AT THIS PRICE! |
|
$149
until Oct 31
(reg. $247)
To Order:
1-800-837-5880
or order online at lawbizstore.com.
|
|
4 CD Set:
Reveals insider information that is sure to go a long way to help achieve optimal results while transitioning out of the practice of law.
Throughout these 4 CDs, presented by Ed Poll, JD, MBA, CMC, listeners will learn about:
Listen to an audio excerpt.
|
|
|
|
| FEATURED VIDEO:
(Click image to view)
|
Video: Selling Your Practice
|
CLIENTS SAY:
"Through Ed's invaluable coaching and no-nonsense approach, I was able to not only stay employed at the firm, but to make partner and have a future with the firm."
JM
Los Angeles, CA
"Ed knew the right questions to make me answer. He has taught me virtually everything I know about formation, planning, and now management of a successful law firm."
RJM
Los Angeles, CA
"Ed is fair, kind and forthright, is very professional and was a very enjoyable person with whom to work. I would highly recommend the services of Ed Poll to anyone in need of assistance with understanding their business, improving its operations or valuing it for sale or transition to some other operational format."
DMG, R.N. J.D.
Austin, TX
|
|
