Know when to hold ’em, fold ’em . . . and (the tough one for lawyers?), know when to walk away

Southern California attorney and mediator Jill Switzer, who writes columns for Above the Law as “Old Lady Lawyer,” uses lyrics from Kenny Rodger’s The Gambler as part of her theme in a recent essay.  She asks whether lawyers prepare themselves, not just financially, but emotionally, to retire at the right time.  Suggesting the answer is “probably not,” Switzer draws on data from a recent California State Bar survey:

On its website, the State Bar of California recently asked its lawyers “how long do you plan to keep practicing law?” The poll was completely unscientific, as it didn’t tally the results by age, years in practice, or any other criteria whatsoever. However, the result was not surprising, at least to this dinosaur: more than fifty percent of the responding lawyers said they would continue to practice as long as they are able. (Ten percent or so said they were looking to switch careers as soon as possible, approximately twenty percent said that they hoped to take early retirement, and approximately fifteen percent said they’d practice until they turned sixty-five. Note to millennials: the retirement age at which you can start receiving full Social Security benefits is creeping upward.)

For more, see Old Lady Lawyer: Is There a Farewell Victory Lap for Lawyers? 

And speaking of “farewell,” did you notice that Above the Law recently terminated the “comments” option for readers of the frequently sharp-tongued blog?  Details here, and I suspect a few readers might view this change as somewhat ironic.