The old way of retiring doesn’t work for most lawyers. The idea of completely stopping work when retirement time arrives is outdated. More commonly today, lawyers are redefining retirement by branching into other roles and finding new ways to use their legal skills.
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After observing several successful transitions away from full-time practice, I find that a common pattern is emerging. The attorneys who thrive in retirement don’t throw away their professional identity (as feared). They grow it. They don’t retire from law. They find meaningful ways to use their legal training.
Here’s a simple guide for lawyers considering their second act, or their next career move.
Mix It Up in Attorney Retirement
The best lawyer retirements today mix several activities. Think part-time teaching, consulting work, board positions and some legal projects. This mixed approach provides mental challenge, social connections, and often extra income while keeping professional skills sharp. Your experience becomes your main asset. After perhaps decades in practice, what you know is worth a lot. Lawyers who thrive in retirement find ways to use this knowledge through things like mediation, expert witness work, or consulting without the stress of full-time practice.
Most importantly, the lawyers who enjoy retirement the most work on their own terms. They pick interesting projects, set their own hours, and turn down work that doesn’t fit their values or lifestyle. This flexibility replaces the rigid schedules that dominated their practicing years.
5 Career Transition Models to Consider
Teaching and training opportunities let attorneys share knowledge while staying current with legal developments. Teaching law school classes, creating continuing education programs, or training corporate legal teams provides mental challenge without client stress. Many law schools actively want experienced lawyers for part-time teaching positions.
Mediation and arbitration services let attorneys use their thinking skills and legal knowledge while helping people solve problems. This work often offers flexible schedules and can be very rewarding personally. The main benefit is problem-solving without the adversarial stress of taking sides.
Specialized consulting uses deep knowledge in particular legal areas. Former healthcare attorneys advise hospitals on compliance issues. Ex-employment lawyers help HR departments navigate complex situations. Retired tax attorneys guide businesses through regulatory changes. This approach offers high-level strategic work without the daily demands of practice.
Nonprofit leadership roles make great use of legal backgrounds. Attorneys become valuable board members and advisors for causes they care about. This work provides community impact, social connections, and chances to use legal skills for meaningful purposes that match personal values.
Limited legal practice allows some attorneys to keep doing legal work while controlling their workload and client base. This might mean serving as outside counsel for small businesses or handling specific types of cases on a project basis. It offers continued legal work with a much better work-life balance.
Start Your Plan Early for Career Transition
Start planning three to five years before retirement. Begin by honestly looking at which parts of law practice you enjoy most. Find the basic elements — solving problems, teaching, negotiating, writing, public speaking — that give you energy. At the same time, try new activities through volunteer work or part-time opportunities in areas that interest you.
Start training and applying for new credentials. Mediators need certification. Teachers may need education training. Board members benefit from governance classes. Start building these skills while still practicing full-time, so you’re ready when you make the transition.
Make changes slowly rather than all at once. Reduce practice work bit by bit while increasing involvement in retirement activities. This might mean moving from full-time to part-time practice, then to project work, while building your second career. This gradual approach helps both the financial and emotional aspects of retirement.
Make a clear plan for your transition. Finally, make the complete transition with a clear plan for how you’ll spend time, make money if you want, and keep your professional connections. With a clear plan, you won’t succumb to painting that boring retirement picture you may have stuck in your head. Rather, you’ll embark on a smart career change that uses everything you’ve learned.
Overcoming the “Identity” Challenge
The most successful retirees don’t struggle with “who am I if I’m not practicing law?” because they never stop being lawyers. They become lawyers who teach, mediate and serve on boards. Their professional identity grows instead of disappearing. This approach solves the identity crisis that stops many attorneys from moving forward.
Worry about mental sharpness in retirement isn’t an issue when your second career involves complex problem-solving, strategic thinking and continuous learning. The key is picking activities that use your highest-level thinking skills.
Professional isolation only happens when attorneys completely disconnect from their field. Successful transitions involve building new professional relationships through teaching, consulting, board service or continued bar association involvement.
While second careers rarely match peak earning years, they often provide meaningful extra income. More importantly, they can reduce retirement costs by providing purpose, structure, and social connections that might otherwise require expensive substitutes.
The Financial Foundation You Need
Financial security lets you focus on fulfillment over maximum income in retirement. Having your basic living costs covered by retirement savings, pensions and Social Security gives you freedom to pursue meaningful work instead of high-paying work.
Many successful second acts (or third acts) involve five to 10 years of reduced but continued earnings. Include this bridge income in your retirement projections to avoid financial pressure that might force you to stop working too early or stop working completely. My clients are often surprised by how much even a small part-time income can positively extend the life of their portfolio.
Also, ensure you have health insurance that doesn’t depend on full-time employment. This gives you flexibility in how much and what type of work you do.
How to Get Your Second Act Started
Begin exploring options right away, even if retirement is years away. The attorneys with the most satisfying retirements start planning their second careers at least three years before leaving practice. Use existing professional relationships to explore opportunities. Your colleagues are often your best source of information about different career paths. Test potential retirement activities through volunteer work, part-time roles, or project work while you are still practicing before making major commitments.
Apply the strategic thinking you use in complex legal matters to your retirement planning. Look at options, weigh pros and cons, and develop timelines with the same care you’d use for any major client matter.
You’ve Got a Leg Up as a Lawyer
Your legal education and practice experience have given you skills that stay valuable long after you stop practicing: analytical thinking, strategic planning, clear communication, complex problem-solving, and the ability to understand large amounts of information quickly. These abilities make you valuable in almost any field you choose.
The question isn’t whether you can build a meaningful second career, it’s which of the many available paths best fits with your interests, values and lifestyle goals. The lawyers who are redefining retirement know that their greatest professional achievements may still lie ahead. So approach this new chapter with curiosity — learn, adapt and enjoy the process as you face retirement head-on.
Interested in how finances connect with retirement purpose? Our weekly newsletter, Money Meets Law, dives into it. Sign up and join the conversation.
Read David Hunter’s article “Attorney Financial Planning Made Simple: 4 Vital Signs.”
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