From the President
| Jurisdiction | United States,Federal,Georgia |
| Citation | Vol. 27 No. 3 Pg. 0006 |
| Pages | 0006 |
| Publication year | 2021 |
ELIZABETH L. FITE
President
State Bar of Georgia
president@gabar.org
Planning for the Unexpected
As of Nov. 1, the nearly 52,400 members of the State Bar of Georgia includes just less than 8,200 inactive members in good standing and some 3,600 emeritus members who have retired from the practice of law.
Not counting 300 or so affiliate members, student members and foreign law consultants, that leaves approximately 40,300 active members in good standing, most of whom likely have our futures in the legal profession mapped out, if only in our minds.
Some of us might already have a specific age or date picked out to ride off into the sunset of retirement. But many lawyers—more, it seems than those in other professions—love what we're doing so much we plan to keep on practicing until we are no longer physically or mentally able to do so.
Either way, though, we are planning our future—and that of our law practices—based on something over which we have no control. Too often, sudden health crises do not comply with the retirement date we've put on our calendar. Indeed, since being sworn in as president, I have received more calls than I ever anticipated from the friends and family of lawyers who have experienced an unexpected and sudden health crisis. Those family members and friends all ask the same question related to that lawyer's practice: "What do I do?" I was prepared for many facets of this year, but I will freely admit that I was not prepared for this aspect of the State Bar presidency.
As you can imagine, those conversations have left an indelible mark on me, and reinforced what I have long believed that every lawyer—especially those in solo practices or small firms without the support structure of a large firm—needs to have an exit strategy for the protection of our clients, our employees and our families in the event of a sudden health crisis that brings an unexpected change of plans and a temporary halt or permanent end to our ability to practice law.
Fortunately, the State Bar of Georgia is ready to assist members with creating such an exit strategy. The Sudden Health Crisis Succession Plan is a project of our Senior Lawyers Committee, in conjunction with the Office of the General Counsel. As stated on the Bar's website, its dual purpose is to assist lawyers in preparing their own sudden health crisis emergency (or succession) plan; and to assist designated individuals who are helping a lawyer who has undergone a sudden health crisis...
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