The Iowa State Bar Association released on May 1 new guidance urging attorneys to prioritize succession planning as a professional responsibility. The association’s Succession Planning Guide for Iowa Lawyers outlines steps to ensure client protection and maintain professional standards if an attorney becomes unable to practice.
Succession planning is emphasized as essential not only for business continuity but also for safeguarding clients, upholding legal ethics, and easing the transition process. According to the guide, failing to plan can expose clients and families to risk, create administrative burdens, and complicate estate matters.
Iowa requires all private practice attorneys to designate another attorney or qualified entity each year through the Client Security Questionnaire under Court Rule 39.18. This “first tier” designation authorizes immediate protective actions such as reviewing files, notifying clients, administering trust accounts, and determining next steps in case of death or disability. The guide recommends a “second tier”—a detailed written plan—to provide further instructions on managing office operations like fee collection, staff compensation, lease termination, practice sale or transition, and file transfers with consent.
Practical advice includes selecting a willing successor; maintaining updated client lists; documenting procedures; communicating plans with staff and family; creating a resource directory; and regularly reviewing arrangements. These measures are especially important for solo practitioners who may lack internal firm support but are also relevant in larger firms where collaborative planning is possible.
The Iowa Bar Association serves over 6,500 lawyers and judges licensed in Iowa according to its official website. It promotes diversity, equity and inclusion within the profession according to its official website, supports members’ service to clients and communities according to its official website, honors excellence through awards according to its official website, utilizes headquarters in Des Moines for administration according to its official website, is governed by a board of 47 elected members from judicial districts according to its official website, and provides resources aimed at advancing justice across the state while being recognized as the oldest voluntary state bar association in the United States serving more than 6,500 lawyers and judges according to its official website.
The ISBA Succession Planning Guide offers checklists, sample forms, implementation strategies tailored for Iowa practitioners at all stages of their careers.