A great article ran in today’s New York Law Journal on succession planning.  This is a must-read for firms approaching that brutal and blessed transition.  If that’s a place you’re in, congratulations for making it this far.  Now brace yourself…it’s a difficult and unforgiving process.  The fact is, smooth sailing has everything to do with a well-charted course.  It’s not the succession that’s hard, it’s the planning.  As the article pointed out, changing a partner’s status, the ‘equitize to incentivize’ strategy, isn’t much of a strategy at all. Partners need tools, not titles, to develop business.  At the end of the day, a smart and strategic marketing plan architected well in advance of founding partners’ retirement will be the best roadmap.  Firms facing a generational rite of passage need to keep in mind that a good plan is  not just about transitioning key client relationships to junior partners, it’s about developing a strong new class of partners who can build client relationships.  See the full article here.