It’s an increasingly glaring contradiction that as the profession has often touted its commercial outlook, on one key yardstick its business cred has utterly failed: the dearth of opportunities for partners after they retire from law.
On one level, that’s strange. Lawyers are increasingly expected to build commercial and management skills and typically retire from the law in their mid-50s. In theory, bluechip boards, finance houses and prestigious not-for-profits should be well stocked with lawyers, deploying a lifetime of well-honed professional knowledge. But as this week’s in depth feature on life after law reminds us, this is very far from the case.
