Guidelines to Closing
Your Law Practice
By Mark Bassingthwaighte
A lawyer can decide to close her practice for any number of reasons.
Disability, retirement, disbarment, a move out-of-state, or a career
change are the more common ones we hear. While the specific
steps that need to be taken can vary significantly depending upon
the reasons behind the closure, this article seeks to provide some
general guidance on the principal issues that will arise. At the outset,
understand that, in many instances, the process of properly closing a
law practice can easily take six to 12 months and sometimes longer
because the obligations to protect client confidences, as well as the
interests of the client, make closing a law practice more difficult than
closing other types of businesses. Finally, note jurisdictional rules do
differ, and a review of your local rules and ethics opinions, perhaps
coupled with a call to your local bar counsel, would be well advised
early on in the process.
The first step one should take after making the decision to close is
to determine what files can be finalized prior to closing and then
seeing that enough time is set aside to enable you to follow through.
This does mean you will need to make a decision as to when to stop
taking on new matters and also when to notify staff as they will be
interacting with the public, as well as current and past clients, once
the news breaks.
The second step is to write and send a letter to all clients with
active matters that cannot be closed in order to advise them of the
upcoming change. Typically, these letters will inform the client of
any relevant time limitations or time frames, provide instructions as
to how and where they may obtain a copy of their file, and advise
them to find a new attorney as quickly as possible. An offer to assist
the clients in finding a new attorney by providing a few names or
the phone number to a local lawyer referral service would also be
appropriate. Don’t overlook the importance of setting forth your
file retention policy and providing post closure contact information
in the event a client needs a copy of their file at some later point in
time. It is for this reason that some jurisdictions also require a similar
letter be sent to past clients. Where called for, these initial letters are
usually followed up with a full accounting of client funds that remain
in the trust account and/or a statement of fees owed by the client.
As clients respond to these letters, remember to retain your original
file and return to the client any original documents and/or client
property such as original wills, deeds, stock certificates, signed
contracts, promissory notes, etc. Again, clients get copies of your file;
you get copies of their original documents. Don’t forget to document
the disposition of the files in case questions come up post closure.
Have clients sign an authorization to release their file to their new
attorney or sign an acknowledgement they picked up a copy of their
file.
On matters that have pending court dates, depositions, or hearings,
have a conversation with the client in order to discuss how to
proceed. A request to reset a hearing or a request for an extension or
continuance may be called for and, once received, confirmation of the
granted request should be sent to opposing counsel and your client. For
cases before a court or administrative body, obtain client permission to
submit a motion and order to withdraw as the attorney of record and,
at an appropriate time, verify that all motions to withdraw have been
granted. If the client has obtained a new attorney, make certain that a
Substitution of Counsel is filed.
If, over the course of your career, you failed to review and destroy old
files that no longer needed to be retained, now is the time to begin. The
costs to continue to maintain closed files can be significant and you
have an ethical obligation to take care of this. Don’t burden a spouse by
leaving this for them to deal with should your spouse outlive you.
When you originally closed the file, you should have separated all the
original documents that belong to the client and returned them to
the client. If you did not, do it now. In fact, a review of every file prior
to destruction is a good idea as sometimes original documents were
overlooked when the file was initially closed.
Remember, in most jurisdictions, the file belongs to the client and
some clients will want their original file as opposed to having it
destroyed. This means you can’t simply decide to destroy client files
absent client awareness and approval. If you did not obtain the client’s
ALPS Risk Manager Mark Bassingthwaighte, Esq., has conducted more than 1,000 law firm risk management
assessment visits, presented numerous continuing legal education seminars throughout the United States, and
written extensively on risk management and technology. Check out Mark’s recent seminars to assist you with
your solo practice by visiting our on-demand CLE library at alps.inreachce.com. Mark can be contacted at
[email protected].
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THE GAVEL