It is a fact that most partners in City firms retire in their mid-50s. However, planning for this is difficult. Many partners often do not wish to be open about their retirement plans, in case this is taken as a lack of genuine commitment. Plus, as partners are fully engaged in their practice, they do not have the time to plan. This creates problems for individual partners as, if they do not plan, finding an occupation after retirement will be a lot harder. Lack of forethought also creates problems for the firm – an absence of advance notice makes succession planning that much tougher.
For the partners – who in many cases have never moved firms since they started their training, or, at least, will never have operated outside a law firm – it is naive to believe that they can easily find a new occupation upon retirement. I believe that most City lawyers have tremendous experience which gives them skills (which they probably do not realise they have) that can be of significant value for institutions that are not law firms; partners need to be encouraged to identify these and understand how they should be valued.
