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    Wisconsin Lawyer
    October 06, 2009

    Plan for an Unplanned Absence 

    You may be great at advising others. Now is the time to “do as you say.” Have a plan for your unplanned absence.

    Sally E. Anderson

    Wisconsin LawyerWisconsin Lawyer
    Vol. 82, No. 10, October 2009

    You may be great at advising others. Now is the time to “do as you say.” Have a plan for your unplanned absence.

    Put the plan in writing, including when it should be implemented. Designate a lawyer or lawyers who can do triage, step in to handle client matters, and take referrals. For a short absence, the lawyer may just need to answer calls or attend an occasional court appointment. For longer absences, your plan needs more detail. Specify who should be notified and how, including clients, courts, other attorneys, service providers, and so on. Your plan should address your professional responsibilities to clients and management of the business aspects of your practice.

    Your engagement letter might say, “My objective is to provide you with excellent legal services and to protect your interests in the event of my unexpected death, disability, or absence for any reason. To do so, I have arranged with another attorney to assist you should I be unable to do so. If that were to happen, my assistant or the assisting attorney would contact you and provide you with information about how to proceed.”

    Sally E. Anderson

    Sally E. Anderson, Marquette 1979, is vice president – claims at Wisconsin Lawyers Mutual Insurance Co., Madison.

    Professional Responsibility Issues

    1. Choose as your partnering attorney someone you know and trust to keep a long-term commitment. He or she should know your practice area, understand conflicts, and accept the designated role, be it conducting triage or serving as substitute counsel or your representative. There are different ethical obligations for each of these choices.
    2. Get your clients’ okay when they hire you; tell them, if possible, who will be contacting them if you are absent.
    3. Prepare a list of current, active clients, courts, opposing lawyers, regulatory agencies, banks, and suppliers to notify promptly of your absence. Then, clients with closed files can be contacted.
    4. Determine the fee arrangement between you and your assisting lawyer.
    5. Provide for file access and storage if you will be gone a long time.
    6. Determine the circumstances under which access to your trust account should be given to your assisting attorney or other designated person.
    7. Provide access to and passwords for your office procedure manual, calendar, contact information, email, voice mail, and business and accounting records.
    8. Update procedures and passwords on a regular basis.

    Business Management Issues

    1. Designate an accountant or third party to work under the direction of your appointed attorney to collect your accounts receivable, generate invoices, and pay the firm’s bills. (This requires you to keep your accounts receivable as current as possible, have fee contracts available, and maintain current information about salaries, rent, equipment leases, insurance premiums, and other firm obligations.)
    2. Provide information about bank accounts and trust accounts, so that a highly trusted back-up person can get access to them as required.
    3. Provide information and access to your post office box, safe deposit box, office safe, and locked file cabinets.
    4. Make a will or estate plan, so that access to, control of, and decision-making authority over your law practice can be maintained according to your wishes.

    This planning honors your professionalism, protects your clients, and can save you and your loved ones from a difficult burden.


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