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may be unique to your particular circumstances. What is expected of the assisting lawyer or firm will probably be different, in relation to a long-term illness from which you hope to recover, as opposed to your incapacity or death. Develop a list of duties that you would expect of your assisting lawyer as well as particulars of your general office routine and practice so that you and your assisting lawyer can begin discussing a plan that would ensure that he /she will have enough information and authority, to step in when needed, to do what is necessary to protect your clients and your practice. Meet with the lawyer to negotiate the terms of your agreement. Plan to review this agreement at least annually to ensure that it continues to adequately meet your needs and your clients’ needs. FILE ORGANIZATION File and office organization is critical to an orderly transition of your practice. Maintain a central calendaring system that is detailed and updated daily, so that whoever steps into your practice can quickly determine filing deadlines, meetings and appearance dates. Get and keep your files in order. Get in the habit of keeping good running notes for each of your client matters. This will make any transition easier. Well documented files and well-developed records management systems are critical to the orderly and cost efficient transition of your practice. If your office and files are poorly organized you will probably have difficulty finding someone to agree to act as your assisting lawyer, or the cost of their services will increase dramatically, because of the disorganization. Make sure that you document details of conversations, meetings, advice given and instructions received, in your files. A well-documented file is critical to the successful defence of a malpractice claim; even more so, if you are unable to respond personally, and your insurer has only your file to rely on. 12 ■ MAY/JUNE 2013 ARCTIC OBITER
POLICY AND PROCEDURES MANUAL If you do not already have an office policy and procedures policy manual, develop one now. This would be another good group project, if you find it too daunting a task to start on your own. The end product will be an extremely important resource for your assisting lawyer when transitioning your practice. A resource that should assist you in this regard is: Law Office Policy & Procedures Manuel, 5th Edition, by Robert C. West and Howard I. Hatoff (ABA Law Practice Management Section, 2006) TRUST ACCOUNT BALANCES Review the trust account for funds that you have been holding for more than 30 days. Determine why you still hold those funds and what action needs to be taken – bills rendered, releases registered, undertakings fulfilled, funds returned to clients? Trying to sort out the reason for stale trust account balances and what should be done with them will be extremely time-consuming for your assisting lawyer, and expensive to you or your estate. BILLINGS AND ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE Commit to keeping detailed time records and to billing clients at least monthly, so that your assisting lawyer is not left with the task of rendering a bill that should have been sent out months earlier, or one in which value to you or your estate is lost, because you have not kept accurate time records. INSURANCE Review your personal life, disability and business expense coverage to determine if it is adequate. Increase it immediately, if it is not. The Canadian Bar Insurance Association provides coverage for lawyers, their families, and employees. Rates are extremely competitive. You do not have to be a member of the Canadian Bar Association to take advantage of their products. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES I hope this article will prompt you to begin your succession planning now. For more information on this topic, I recommend that you check with you provincial or territorial law society, and the Canadian Bar Association for resources and tools that each might have available for you. Many have resources available online. ■ Deborah Gillis, QC, is a lawyer and succession planning consultant in Bedford, Nova Scotia. She may be reached at deg@eastlink.ca. This article was originally published at CBA PracticeLink. ARCTIC OBITER MAY/JUNE 2013 ■ 13
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