Your associate is leaving. She has been working together with you on some cases. She has some clients she’s handling on her own.

You’re afraid that she’s going to take some of the files with her. Those files, along with the future revenue, are about to walk out the door.

What Should You Do?

You’re not going to like my answer. I apologize in advance. I’m sure you’re getting used to not liking many of my answers, so this isn’t a new feeling for you. I know, I’m annoying sometimes (much of the time?). There’s nothing I can do about it now. I’m old. It’s too late.

So, please, please, please…WHAT. IS. THE. ANSWER?

Let her have the clients. Let her take the files. Let her do what she wants to do.

In fact, I’d encourage you to help her with the transition. Offer to assist in her move. Do everything you can to support her in doing what she’s going to do.

Why Should You Help Her?

Because if you do anything else, your entire world will turn to shit. (Yes, I said “shit.” Send the upset e-mail explaining to me why that word caused you to cancel your free subscription to lee@roseninstitute.com).

Here’s what I mean:

• The clients you keep will be upset. They’ll be agitated by the change from her to you or to another associate.
• The clients will perceive, whether it’s true or not, that they’re paying more for the transition.
• The clients will blame everything that goes wrong from this point forward on the lawyer switch. Nothing will be their fault, and everything will be your fault.
• You’ll struggle to get these clients to pay fees as they become due.
• Many of these files are likely a mess. Let her fix them. You’ve got enough problems. More messed up files is not what you need.
• You’ll end up trashing the associate in an effort to keep the files. It’s unavoidable. You’ll either do it explicitly or, more likely, implicitly when you imply that the clients would be better off staying with you.
• Your former associate will trash you for keeping the clients along with everything else that she thinks is wrong with you.
• Everyone at the courthouse will be talking about her move and how badly you behaved. Of course, some will talk about her and how badly she behaved. If it goes as it usually goes, you’ll both get trashed by the courthouse gossips.
• The whole mess will make you feel terrible, and you’ll get wound up about it and find yourself agitated all of the time.

Oddly, letting her take the clients without any resistance will make your life better:

• You’ll shock her with your generosity. She’ll wonder why she left in the first place. She’ll experience cognitive dissonance as you offer to help. It’ll totally freak her out, which is incredibly satisfying.
• You’ll feel better about yourself. Scrambling to keep the clients doesn’t feel good. Crushing her spirit by taking these crappy cases doesn’t feel good. You’ve got to turn this into something positive.
• Helping her fulfill her dreams puts a positive spin on the situation. The next thing you know, you’ll actually feel pretty good about the situation. Sure, you’re losing out on a few bucks, but you’re saving yourself lots of problems. Helping another person feels good. You’ll renew your energy for thinking about how to build a practice. Some of her energy might wear off on you.

It’s counterintuitive to let the clients go, but it’s the best thing to do. Many of them would leave regardless of your efforts. Letting her take the clients keeps her happy, the clients happy, and, ultimately, you happy. Help her go.

The money you gain from keeping the files will all be lost dealing with the fallout.

The real nightmare scenario is when she can’t or won’t take the files with her. That’s when you’re going to be forced to keep the files and deal with all of the client fallout.