If you are a Pennsylvania attorney considering retirement, reducing your practice, or stepping away due to health, the question that weighs heaviest is not about you — it is about your clients. The families who trusted you with their estate plans, the executors you guided through probate, the businesses you helped form. They need someone who will take care of them the way you did. We can be that firm.
The Reality of Attorney Retirement in Western PA
A significant number of solo practitioners and small firm attorneys in Westmoreland, Allegheny, and surrounding counties are approaching retirement age. Many have practiced for 30 or 40 years. Their clients — some of whom have been with them for decades — have wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and business documents that were drafted by an attorney who knows their family, their goals, and their history.
When that attorney retires without a transition plan, those clients are left without counsel. Their documents may need updating. Their executor does not know who to call when the time comes. Pending matters stall. And the retiring attorney's legacy — the relationships built over a career — dissolves.
It does not have to work that way.
How We Help Retiring Attorneys
Client Transition
We work directly with you to introduce your clients to our firm. This is not a mass mailing — it is a thoughtful, personal transition. You introduce us the way you would introduce a colleague you trust. We meet with your clients individually, review their existing documents, and establish the relationship on a foundation of your recommendation.
For clients with current estate plans, we offer a complimentary review to identify anything that needs updating based on changes in the law or their circumstances since the plan was last drafted.
File Transfer & Document Custody
We accept custody of your client files — original wills, trust documents, powers of attorney, real estate records, and corporate files. Pennsylvania's Rules of Professional Conduct require that client files be maintained and accessible even after you close your practice. We provide secure storage and ensure that clients can access their documents when they need them.
Practice Acquisition
If your practice has ongoing value — active client relationships, recurring revenue from annual filings or trust administration, or a book of business worth acquiring — we can discuss purchasing all or part of your practice. Pennsylvania Rule of Professional Conduct 1.17 permits the sale of a law practice, including goodwill, provided clients are given notice and the opportunity to choose their own counsel.
We handle the valuation, the purchase agreement, and the client notification process. For practices focused on estate planning, probate, real estate, or business law — our core areas — the transition is seamless because we already do the same work.
Gradual Wind-Down
Not every retirement is immediate. If you want to wind down over 12 to 24 months — finishing active matters, transitioning clients at a comfortable pace, and reducing your workload gradually — we can co-counsel on pending matters during the transition period. You stay involved as long as you want, and we take over as you step back.
What We Practice
We accept transitions in our core practice areas:
- Estate planning — wills, trusts, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, special needs planning, high net worth planning
- Probate and estate administration — executor representation, trust administration, inheritance tax, fiduciary accounting
- Real estate — closings, title insurance, deed transfers, commercial transactions, landlord-tenant
- Business law — formation, contracts, succession planning, buy-sell agreements, annual compliance
- Elder law — Medicaid planning, veterans benefits, long-term care planning
If your practice includes areas outside our scope (family law, criminal, personal injury), we can coordinate with trusted attorneys in those fields to ensure all your clients are placed with competent counsel.
Confidentiality
If you are exploring retirement but are not ready to announce it, every conversation with us is confidential. We understand the sensitivity — your staff, your clients, and your colleagues do not need to know until you are ready. We have been through this process before and we handle it with discretion.
Why Attorneys Choose Us
- We practice in the same areas you do — your clients will receive the same type of counsel they are accustomed to
- We are based in Murrysville and serve the same Western PA communities
- We are a multi-attorney firm — your clients will have continuity even if one of our attorneys is unavailable
- We offer transparent, agreed-upon billing — your clients will not be surprised by our fees
- We treat your referral as a trust to be honored, not a transaction to be processed
If you are considering retirement or want to discuss transition options, call (724) 733-3500 and ask for John or Bob. The conversation is confidential and there is no obligation.