The next career stage for managing partners

What will you do after your term as managing partner comes to an end? Hopefully it will occur because you do not wish to reapply or your firm limits the number of terms that anyone can hold the post, rather then because your partners want you to vacate it. An even worse eventuality, of course, is your position becoming redundant following a buyout by a larger firm.

In whichever scenario you may find yourself, your options will be fairly similar: return to full-time client work at either your firm or a competitor firm; take on a leadership role at either your firm or another firm; get a position at a different type of organisation; become a consultant in law firm management; or start planning for your retirement. Granted, the number of doors that will be opened to you will be affected by how successful you are in your current role and how well your exit is managed.

Retirement can seem a rather unattractive option after a high-flying career as a lawyer/managing partner/workaholic - particularly if your firm expects you to walk into the sunset in your 60s. With life expectancy currently at around 85 years (and rising) in developed countries, that's a long time to be improving your golf handicap. And then, of course, there's the question of whether you can support your family for that long on your pension and savings. So, after you have fulfilled your immediate retirement goals of rest and relaxation, you may well find yourself looking for another job - at your current firm, at a different firm,
at a different type of organisation, or in an independent capacity.

For some senior lawyers, the careers they ended up having were not entirely of their choosing, nor did they dream of practising law for life. But then family responsibilities came along and a change of industry became unfeasible. Others decided in their youth to pursue a lifelong career in law and explore their personal interests during downtimes in client work. The reality is that these interests are usually deprioritised when there is more work to do or families and friends asking for their time.

The benefit, however, of being in the position that you will be in when you step down as managing partner is that you will have the time and (hopefully) financial independence to start pursuing both your serious and more 'fun' interests. One managing partner told me that he had always wanted to be a professional performance poet. The question is whether you will have a working plan to make your dreams come true well before your final term ends.

The idea of making a career plan - particularly one based on your personal interests - can be quite daunting after several decades in the legal profession, let alone in a single law firm. But, it requires the same strategic and analytical skills that you would use when creating a business plan for your firm and involves much of the same steps. You will (likely) already know how to look months and years ahead, decide where you want your firm to be and determine what the firm will realistically need to get there. Once you have completed the same exercise for your own future, you will know what you will need to do and by when.

With that written plan in hand, you can then start preparing for the next stage of your career. It may well be the greatest adventure of your life.

Until next time,