In his previous book, Solo Lawyer by Design: A Plan for Success in Any Practice (2017), author Gary P. Bauer helped law students and recent graduates develop a realistic business plan to enter the practice of law. In Hire and Retire, the second book in his "Solo Lawyer" series for the ABA's Solo, Small Firm and General Practice (GPSolo) Division, Bauer covers the back end of practice for senior attorneys seeking a successful exit strategy. Hire and Retire brings together new attorneys or recent graduates and those in the practice of law who are approaching retirement.

Many older lawyers have no plan in place in case of their untimely death or disability, despite their ethical obligations to their clients. Thus, more and more state bar associations are being called on to close out the practices of solo practitioners who have made no provisions. Receivers appointed by bar associations may take years to find all the information they need to close things out. Other lawyers who don’t “die at their desks” end up leaving money on the table, slowly reducing their practices instead of transferring work to others. Hiring on a new associate means a continued stream of income as the senior attorney cuts back.

You have spent decades developing your practice and making it successful. With the proper planning and direction that Hire and Retire offers, you can convert what you’ve built into a revenue stream that can be enjoyed as you move into retirement. Leave your family an asset, not a liability.

Professor Gary P. Bauer has been a member of the full-time faculty at Western Michigan University Cooley Law School since 1998. He has worked as a criminal defense attorney and is the director of the school’s Sixty Plus, Inc., Elderlaw Clinic, where he teaches estate planning to third-year law students. He has served as past chair of the Practice Management Section of the State Bar of Michigan and chair of the Legal Educators Committee for the ABA’s GPSolo Division, and has been the recipient of several awards from the ABA and the State Bar of Michigan. He is an accomplished author, public speaker, and educator with a desire to help all lawyers find success in practice.