Life after the legal innings

The prospect of retirement can be daunting for solicitors who are used to thriving in a challenging environment.

But there is still enough engaging work to bowl you over once you have put your feet up, says Suzy Bender

Imagine retirement.

No more 'notwithstandings' and 'hereinafters'.

You can speak and write in plain English again.

No more younger partners eyeing up your spacious office and your larger share of the profits.

If you can say goodbye to all of that - and the clients - why does the thought of retirement terrify you so much? You know you could fill your days.

You are intelligent, well-educated and there are so many activities for which you have always wished you had more time.Perhaps it is the lack of status you fear.

This is understandable because, according to Ruth Duffield, transpersonal counsellor and psychotherapist, in today's world our identity is related to the work we do.

And her research has shown that adapting to retirement might parallel the grief process in terms of loss and adjustment.But lawyers - such as Bill Shelford, the senior partner of City firm CMS Cameron McKenna, who has just announced his retirement - are going to have to learn quickly how to make that a smooth and successful adjustment.

Although they are living longer, they are also retiring earlier.

The Economic & Social Research Council's recent review shows that the percentage of men in their 50s who were working fell from about 93% in 1975 to around 77% currently.

There has been no distinctive change for women.Keith Bedell-Pearce, executive director of Prudential, in looking at current trends, says: 'People have a more active and hedonistic vision of their retirement.

Retirement is no longer seen as a brief period at the end of life, but the beginning of a new tertiary life stage of perhaps 30 years' duration.

There is also an increasing expectation of the quality of retirement.'With the prospect of more than 2,000 extra hours a year to fill, any solicitor approaching retirement needs to make plans.

Fortunately, there are a number of pre-retirement planning and retirement education organisations and retirement counselling services available.As well as covering advice on investments, moving abroad, health checks, adult education, and opportunities for voluntary work, they also take into consideration your spouse or partner.Tony Wheeler, chief executive of Retirement Education Services, says: 'Senior executives and professionals are used to decision taking and problem solving.

They prefer to take control of situations.

Once work ends, they tend to dominate their new work-place - the home.

This can irritate and sometimes anger a partner who has managed the home affairs perfectly well for decades.'In looking forward to his retirement, Mr Shelford says: 'What I suspect I am going to miss the most is working with people with extremely good brains - although I hope still to work part-time, perhaps partly in a voluntary capacity.'However, he doubts he will miss the status he currently enjoys because he regards retirement as a new chapter in his life and he does not believe in looking backwards.After 33 years with the firm, he is relishing the prospect of having time to explore London galleries, starting with the Wallace Collection.

He also wants to travel with his wife, attend language courses, and cook.The human resources department at CMS Cameron McKenna is considering organising retirement planning advice for its staff, from which Mr Shelford may be able to benefit.

Nonetheless, he says he is still surprisingly nervous about the prospect of retirement because it will be such a big change.Mr Shelford could contact Reach, a scheme which matches experts with voluntary organisations needing their skills.

Reach offers professionals 'the stimulation of keeping their mind active and their professional expertise in use'.David Bramson retired as senior partner from City firm Nabarro Nathanson last April, and has since used his legal skills and management expertise for the benefit of charities.

Six months ago, through Reach, he was appointed to the management committee of Homestart in Camden.This is a charity assisting families with young children.

He attends management meetings and his experience helps Homestart make best use of systems and strategy.

Mr Bramson says charities are no different from commercial organisations in that they often have quite large budgets to handle with government grants, and may need advice on drawing up contracts and dealing with employment issues.It is easy to see how charities gain from Reach providing them with the services of a solicitor.

But what is in it for the solicitor? Mr Bramson says he enjoys being involved with different types of organisations from those he has been used to.He says it has given him an insight into the importance of charities being run commercially.

This has been reinforced by his work with another of Reach's charities where he gives general corporate advice.At Nabarro Nathanson, there is a community programme, which Mr Bramson now helps organise, in which everybody in the firm spends one day a year with a voluntary organisation.If they contact Reach, they will be put in touch with a 'matcher', someone who introduces the volunteers to the charities that need the skills and interests on offer.Jenny Wakefield is a former solicitor who now works as a matcher for Scotland.

She says solicitors will often be invited to become legal advisers or trustees.

But they do not always want to follow their previous occupation.

So if, for example, they are interested in birds, Ms Wakefield will try to match them with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

Or if they enjoy working with youngsters, they could be matched with a young person needing business advice under the Prince's Trust.She says charity shops always need help from people with business expertise, and many charities need treasurers and fund-raisers.

Retired solicitors can consult the Law Society's leaflet on retiring, which clarifies work for which they need to hold a practising certificate and/or professional indemnity insurance.

There are notes on closing down a practice, the advantages and effects of remaining on the roll of solicitors, and advice on working without remuneration.

The leaflet also gives points to consider where a solicitor retiring from the partnership remains with the firm as a consultant.What the leaflet does not address, of course, are the latest retirement buzz-words.

So, here they are.

You will not retire, you will 'work-exit'.

And you will not be retired, you will be 'economically inactive'.Now sit back and imagine how a future time-sheet could look when you are economically inactive: travel to golf club - five units; 18 holes plus leisurely lunch - 50 units; travel home including stop at travel agent - ten units; snooze in armchair after browse through cruise brochures - 15 units.

Intersperse those days with some useful voluntary work and suddenly retirement - sorry, work-exit - does not seem so terrifying after all.Suzy Bender is a freelance journalist