Solo and small firm attorneys often delay retirement and exit planning due to perceived complexity, cost, or uncertainty—unintentionally increasing professional, financial, and ethical risk. This practical CLE equips attorneys with a clear, risk-aware framework for planning their eventual exit, succession, or retirement while protecting clients, firm value, and personal financial security. The program focuses on realistic planning strategies for attorneys who may not have internal successors, including identifying risk exposure in delayed planning, coordinating legal and financial considerations, and implementing safeguards that align with professional responsibility obligations.
Learning Objectives:
* Identify key professional, ethical, and financial risks associated with delayed or informal retirement and exit planning in small firm and solo practices
* Evaluate practical exit pathways and assess their relative risk profiles
* Implement foundational risk-mitigation strategies to protect clients, firm value, and personal assets during retirement or transition planning
* Coordinate retirement and exit planning decisions with ethical obligations related to client communication, file management, trust accounts, and continuity of representation
* Develop a roadmap appropriate for attorneys without internal successors or large firm infrastructure
Stacey Carrasco is the Founder and Principal Attorney of Carrasco Legal Group, a boutique estate and business planning law firm based in Silver Spring, Maryland, serving clients throughout Maryland and the District of Columbia. With more than 20 years of legal experience, Ms. Carrasco counsels individuals, families, and small business owners on comprehensive planning strategies, including wills and trusts, incapacity planning (powers of attorney and advance directives), and business planning with a focus on entity formation, continuity, succession, and exit strategies.