A Clearer, Smarter, and Surer Path to (and from) Equity
New Zealand’s legal profession is approaching a succession cliff. A generation of lawyers — many in small and provincial firms — want to downshift or retire outright but cannot see a viable exit, while the lawyers who should succeed them are declining the opportunity to invest in a legal practice because they neither see the need, nor have sufficient incentive to do so. These are two sides of the same opportunity.
All generations in our industry actually share goals in common. At a minimum, they want to:
Finding the pathway to this, with the same people in the same practice is where the magic happens. That’s where Legal Affairs Management can show both sides how to make the magic real.
We have direct experience in developing and, most importantly, delivering a planned process bringing both sides together, and can help you do the same. Our Succession Bridge offering is specifically tailored and priced to appeal to small to medium sized law practices in New Zealand and offers a practical equity transition programme that supports growth, continuity, and fair financial outcomes both for the incoming and downshifting lawyer.
For firms and equity lawyers, we deliver a Succession Readiness Assessment and Strategy that helps lawyers achieve their downshifting or retirement plan.
For rising lawyers, we run the Equity Participation Pathway Programme to determine lawyer interest and readiness for entry into equity.
Our approach is to help a generation of lawyers enjoy a successful tiered exit (or sharp knife exit, if required) and gear up the next generation to introduce them to the attractive opportunity of business ownership that a well-run, profitable law firm offers them, all while providing the tools and techniques to help them see an enjoyable future in the practice.
A shared commitment to mutual benefit, for both the firm and the individual lawyers, is the thread that ties the offering together. Our goal is to help reframe “it is what it is” to “it is what you make it.”
As we like to say, you may be literally “standing in your own acre of diamonds” without realising it. Our mission is to help both sides identify and mine those diamonds.
If you’re considering succession, or exploring the opportunity of equity, we’d be happy to discuss how the Succession Bridge programme could work for you and your practice.