Succession Planner

Assess continuity, transferability, client transition risk, revenue durability, and the first 90 days of succession work.

25 minutes / advisory

Before you start

Assesses founder dependency, client transition, revenue durability, team continuity, buyer/successor readiness, transferability, and 90-day priorities.

Use it before succession becomes urgent, when continuity risk is visible but options are still open.

Next action: start the tool, answer with current assumptions, then use the report to decide what to verify.

Assess succession readiness

What you get

  • Succession readiness band
  • Priority constraints
  • Advisor verification prompts
  • 90-day action plan structure

Resume options

Start new or continue on this pageView saved reportsChoose workspace context

Recommended prep

Review the connected resource if the tool touches a decision the firm will rely on.

Browse related sources

Recommended before or during this tool

These sources explain the methodology behind the tool and can help sharpen the inputs before the report is treated as settled.

Succession & Firm Continuity

DOL Employee Ownership Initiative: Succession Planning

external

Plain-English federal resource on exploring future ownership structures, leadership, and trusted-advisor planning.

successionownership structuretrusted advisorscontinuitytool prepreport review

Best used with Succession Planner.

Owner prompt: Which ownership structures should be explored with qualified advisors?

View source noteOpen external

Succession & Firm Continuity

ABA Succession Planning Resources

external

ABA resource hub for lawyer succession, transition, valuation, and law-practice continuity materials.

lawyer successionpractice transitionvaluationcontinuitytool prepreport review

Best used with Succession Planner.

Owner prompt: What law-practice duties or client-transition issues need professional review?

View source noteOpen external

Fictional example

Founder-dependent litigation boutique

A founder wants continuity options before health, burnout, sale pressure, or merger interest narrows the path.

Sample inputs

  • Founder dependency
  • Client transition risk and revenue durability
  • Buyer/internal successor readiness and transferability

Sample output

  • Succession readiness band
  • Priority constraints
  • 90-day action plan inputs

Caution

  • Succession decisions require legal, tax, accounting, employment, financial, valuation, and transaction advice.

Sample completed report preview

The practice has valuable work but remains founder-dependent; the first 90 days should reduce client-transition and revenue-durability risk before any transaction path is treated as real.

Fictional sample for orientation only

Key metrics

  • Readiness band: high risk or underdeveloped
  • Primary constraint: founder dependency
  • Planning horizon: 90-day dependency reduction

Weak areas

  • Top clients still depend on founder relationships.
  • Revenue durability is not yet documented for a buyer or successor.

Assumptions to verify

  • Continuity planning should begin before urgency narrows the firm's options.
  • Client transition, revenue durability, and team continuity can be improved before any transaction path is chosen.
  • Qualified advisors will verify legal, tax, accounting, employment, financial, valuation, and transaction assumptions.

Next clean moves

  • Create a client transition map for the top relationships.
  • Document the highest-risk recurring workflow.
  • Schedule advisor review for legal, tax, accounting, valuation, and transaction assumptions.

Source references

  • ABA Succession Planning: Use as a general planning reference for continuity questions to discuss with qualified advisors.
  • DOL Succession Planning: Use to frame business-continuity and transfer-readiness questions.

Follow-up rhythm

  • 30 days: 30-day dependency reduction review. Confirm the first client-transition, revenue, team, or workflow dependency has an owner and action.
  • 90 days: 90-day succession readiness review. Review whether the readiness band changed after advisor verification and first actions.

Consulting bridge

  • Request succession readiness review when founder dependency, client transition, revenue durability, or transferability risk remains high.

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Saved locally in this browser

Create an account after Supabase is configured to import local drafts into saved progress.

Owner content needed

Draft framework: final readiness categories and transaction-sensitive language should be supplied by the owner.

Readiness risks

Identify the risks that would make transition harder.

Founder dependency
Revenue durability band
Team continuity band

Method sources

These materials provide strategic context for the tool. The tool output remains a planning aid.

Succession & Firm Continuity

DOL Employee Ownership Initiative: Succession Planning

external

Plain-English federal resource on exploring future ownership structures, leadership, and trusted-advisor planning.

successionownership structuretrusted advisorscontinuitytool prepreport review

Best used with Succession Planner.

Owner prompt: Which ownership structures should be explored with qualified advisors?

View source noteOpen external

Succession & Firm Continuity

ABA Succession Planning Resources

external

ABA resource hub for lawyer succession, transition, valuation, and law-practice continuity materials.

lawyer successionpractice transitionvaluationcontinuitytool prepreport review

Best used with Succession Planner.

Owner prompt: What law-practice duties or client-transition issues need professional review?

View source noteOpen external