FOR FIRMS

A senior departure means managing several things at once

A senior departure means managing several things at once

The handling of a senior departure tends to get split across the firm. Succession goes one way, the exit terms another, the client handover somewhere else again, and no one is left overseeing the whole process. And, somewhere in all of that, an actual person is working out what comes next.

Discuss a senior transition →

Discuss a senior transition →

THE WHOLE TRANSITION

BEFORE EXIT

Timing

Policy

Succession

Conversations

EXIT

Handover

Clients

Successor

Departure

AFTER EXIT

Relationship

Support

Alumni groups

What follows

Sequent can work across the whole process or enter at one particular point.

Why partnerships are particularly complex

Personal client relationships

Individual economics

Long institutional histories

Successor politics

Professional standing

Fragmented ownership and responsibility

Knowledge held by individuals

Everyone watches everyone else’s exit

While a successor can carry the title and the role, the standing with the client doesn’t automatically transfer to them.

When someone senior leaves, so does tacit judgment, which is difficult to measure. It shows up in knowing which clients are at risk, who needs careful handling and how they prefer to be communicated with.

The wise executive knows which clients think in bullet points and which in prose, and speaks to them accordingly. They also know how the firm works: who will return a difficult call and who can be relied upon to handle a crisis.

Then there is value that may never have been formally attributed. Senior people bring business into a firm through their relationships and the referrals they make. When they leave, that value can stroll out of the door with the carriage clock and bottle of champers.

A senior executive or partner may also carry a reputation well beyond the firm, built over 20 or 30 years. The firm cannot keep all of that after departure, but it can preserve the relationship that brings continued access to it.

Where do we enter?

WE REVIEW THE WHOLE SYSTEM

Firm-wide review & implementation

We assess how the firm currently manages senior transitions and, in particular, whether the process is held together or split across different people and functions. We also look at what happens after the person leaves, both to the relationship with them and inside the firm.

A policy may say what should happen ideally without solving the harder question of what needs to be done by whom. Responsibility can sit across leadership, Partner Affairs, practice heads, HR and others without anybody clearly owning the whole transition.

At some point, somebody has to have the conversation. It can be awkward, sensitive and intimidating, particularly where the people involved have worked together for years. The person charged with starting it may have little incentive to volunteer for the job and little support once they do.

In essence, much of the cost of getting a grip on a senior exit lands on the person doing it, while the benefits of a well-managed transition are spread throughout the firm.

The work can stop at review and recommendations, or Sequent can stay with the firm and help put the resulting approach into practice. That may mean changing policy and process, supporting individual departures, or shaping the firm’s continuing relationship with former senior people.

ONE PARTICULAR EXIT NEEDS HANDLING WELL

Single-case work

Single-case work

For firms with relatively few departures, or where one particular exit needs handling well, Sequent Advisory can work one case at a time. We help with the conversations, the handover, the successor, client relationships and what both sides expect after exit.

For firms with relatively few departures, or where one particular exit needs handling well, Sequent Advisory can work one case at a time. We help with the conversations, the handover, the successor, client relationships and what both sides expect after exit.

THIS IS ALREADY BECOMING DIFFICULT

Exit A&E

Exit A&E is for the unexpected, awkward or simply left-too-late case. We come in, throw a safety net under proceedings and guide you through the process. Without help, managing a sudden departure can feel like bomb disposal. We understand what is at stake and have the expertise and delicacy to adapt to each scenario.

More runway creates more options

But we work with the time you have

EARLIER

More succession time

More client transition

More preparation

MIDDLE

More constrained choices

Faster intervention

Prioritise essentials

LATER

Exit already live

Protect what can still be protected

Build value into the alumni relationship

A senior person often still matters to the firm long after leaving. Clients may keep calling them and referrals still come through them. They know how the firm works and when a successor could use a quiet word. None of that disappears because the partnership agreement says they've retired.

Yet firms often leave the relationship to chance. Sequent helps them decide what should continue afterwards and on what terms. It can also build the alumni structure around that relationship, so that commercial pathways are designed in rather than left to goodwill. That gives both sides a clear way back to one another when there is something worth doing together.

A senior person often still matters to the firm long after leaving. Clients may keep calling them and referrals still come through them. They know how the firm works and when a successor could use a quiet word. None of that disappears because the partnership agreement says they’ve retired.

Yet firms often leave the relationship to chance. Sequent helps them decide what should continue afterwards and on what terms. It can also build the alumni structure around that relationship, so that commercial pathways are designed in rather than left to goodwill. That gives both sides a clear way back to one another when there is something worth doing together.

And the person leaving?

This should not be a process being done to them.

It is often a negotiation between equals and long-time colleagues, in which a new relationship is being explored. It can affect existing clients and the successor, and whether knowledge, judgement and goodwill continue to benefit the firm.

It is less like an amicable divorce and more like a trade agreement between allies. There is much at stake for both, and the complexity requires a careful and informed approach.

What follows →