How to Ace Legal Administrator Succession Planning

Beginning the Process 

Smart law firms understand the importance of including legal administrators in their succession plans, says Gerry Riskin, Founder of legal advisory service provider Edge International.

The Managing Partner at one firm he works with recently said he felt senior lawyers working in prominent areas should look at possible successors — and hoped the head of the firm’s administration function would, too, Riskin says.

“Some haven’t thought it might be a good idea to address this,” he says. “[Without a] contingency plan, senior leadership is going to have to [contemplate], should we get a fractional Chief Operating Officer? A fractional COO and CMO and some interim help? Is there someone on our team we have not seriously thought about promoting but should consider making an acting COO?”

If a firm hasn’t previously factored legal administrator roles into its succession planning efforts, conducting an inventory to identify critical positions and the associated responsibilities can be a good place to start, according to Riskin.

Firms can then review the scope of their talent resources.

“What do our people have expertise in that they would be capable of handling?” Riskin says. “Let's say an administrator really understands the protocols we use to preserve our database for cases and file matters [and] data about our clients. We might have another administrator who has not got a clue; they farm it out.”

Effective succession planning takes more than just retirement- and illness-related vacancies into account. Career aspirations can play a part — which Riskin says department heads may be able to uncover through conversations with employees.

“What about that young individual who’s doing a great job?” he says. “What do we do if something happens to them? Very few firms think about that. [They] think, ‘That person is 35 years old; what could happen?’”

Effective succession planning takes more than just retirement- and illness-related vacancies into account. Career aspirations can play a part.

Succession Plan Execution

Law firms can utilize several methods to help prepare the individuals they’ve earmarked as successors to eventually take on new roles, including assigning them different tasks that align with the corresponding job proficiencies.

Firms might also want to encourage succession candidates to pursue external training, Thomas says, such as a local college’s paralegal program or an ALA course for industry members who are in the early stages of their career.

“I look at the various positions I had — I grew with the firm,” she says. “People move jobs more frequently now; they don't see a vested [employer] interest. There are a lot of roles individuals can grow into with either internal or external training, and it’s better to have someone who's been there five years stay for 10, as opposed to [having to] keep bringing new people in.”

Seattle-based Hones Law provides continuing education stipends to help its employees advance to other roles. Founder Edward Hones believes that as the backbone of modern practice management legal administrators should be part of the firm’s planning endeavors.

“We’ve taken a proactive approach to succession planning that goes beyond just grooming future partners,” Hones says. “We recognize a sustainable law firm isn’t just about having a rainmaker at the top, it’s about ensuring the people who handle operations, client intake, compliance and workflow are growing alongside the attorneys.”

Some of the firm’s investments to foster its high-potential administrative talent have involved mentorship and cross-training opportunities.

“Our strategy includes creating documented pathways for advancement,” Hones says. “By linking succession planning with employee growth, we’re not only protecting the firm’s long-term stability, but also improving retention and morale in the present.”

Newly anointed administrators may appreciate having a written record of all aspects of their predecessor’s job — ranging from available health insurance plans to anticipated partnership progress, Thomas says. She once spent a year-and-a-half documenting systems and other information after replacing a law firm administrator who’d retired.

“[The firm felt] like, ‘She has been an administrator before; she knows how to do everything,’” she says. “But I don't know where you keep everything. Everyone uses Microsoft Outlook. Not everyone uses folders [or] sets their systems up the same. I sat in the role and put things into place, creating a playbook of what is what and what’s where.”

Thomas also recommends establishing specific objectives to ensure knowledge transfer and other succession plan elements remain on track. Most law firms, she says, seem to be comfortable working with a timeframe of five or more years.

“A five- to seven-year plan is an easy sweet spot because you could put some definable markers into trying to bring in the next person,” she says. “Finding the person is going to take time, and you have to make sure the candidate is really and truly [who] you would like to... carry on the legacy. The more years you have on your side, the easier it’s going to be to hit those milestones.”