Building a Legacy: David Wood on Succession Planning for Law Firms

In this episode of This Legal Life, Ben Chiriboga sits down with David Wood, former senior partner and founder of David Wood Consulting, to discuss the intricacies of succession planning in law firms. With over 25 years of experience, David shares insights on transitioning client relationships, preparing successors, and the cultural and compensation challenges that hinder successful succession. The episode delves into David’s personal journey and the lessons learned from navigating multiple firm environments and his transition to consulting.

About David:

In the lead-up to his retirement, David Wood spent hundreds of hours migrating his $6 million practice to top-flight younger partners. An inspired motivational speaker, David now presents to firm leaders and partner gatherings about the urgency of replacing senior partners who generate disproportionate shares of firm revenue. He also advises firms on how to plan and execute intergenerational turnovers of their top producers and managing partners.

David has written about succession topics for The American Lawyer, Bloomberg Law Insights, the Business of Law Digest, the ALM Marketing the Law Firm Newsletter, the Association of Legal Administrators’ Legal Management magazine, the ALM Accounting and Financial Planning newsletter, and Legal Business World magazine. He has presented at ALM events including its regional General Counsel Roundtables and its Pro Webinar series, and at conferences produced by marketing consultant PipelinePlus. David has appeared on the Association of Legal Administrators’ Legal Management Talk podcast and the Furia Rubel podcast On the Record. He is a faculty member for Lawline CLE on retirement succession topics.

Please follow David’s thought leadership on his blog and on LinkedIn. He can be reached at david.wood@davidwoodconsulting.com.