Many years ago, when I first started my own company, I was reminded of a comment made by Benjamin Franklin. There were two aspects of life that no one could avoid - death and taxes. However, when you run a law firm, there's a third possibility that you can't avoid - at some time you're going to have to sell, merge or get your Practice valued. When I talk to Solicitors about succession planning, their eyes tend to glaze over and they generally take the view that as long as they bury their heads for long enough and deep enough in the sand, the problem will go away. The trouble is that these sorts of problems never go away. If anything, impending retirement looms larger and larger, especially as you get older. Most of the Solicitors that I talk to tell me that they're far too busy earning a living to spend time thinking about the future. As the old saying goes, sometimes you're just too busy baling the boat out to be able to steer it. As another old saying goes, "if you don't know where you're going, you'll end up somewhere else". So where is your Practice going? Have you thought about where your Practice will be in 12 months, in 3 years, in 5 years time? What plans do you have in case you become ill and are unable to continue working? Do you have Solicitors within your firm who are thinking of leaving because they haven't been offered Salaried Partnership? Likewise, do you have Salaried Partners within your firm who are thinking of leaving because they haven't been offered Equity? What would happen if one of your key fee earners became ill or left? If you are thinking of buying, selling merging or having your firm valued - this book is essential reading material.