What is it?
The Professional Services Retirement Forum is for leading professional service firms dedicated to reimagining retirement for partners.
Founded by Next-Up with inaugural members Addleshaw Goddard, Allen & Overy, DLA Piper, EY and Squire Patton Boggs, this initiative addresses a critical challenge: how to support and leverage the expertise of professionals transitioning out of full-time roles plus wider employee support.
Our next Forum is online on 7 July at 2pm (UK time)
The topic for discussion – Building a parallel CV – Are your partners starting early enough?
Most firms now know that partner transition done badly is expensive – for the firm and the individual. Leading professional firms now offer support to partners, in groups, before they retire. This is normalising conversations and providing cohort support.
What fewer have worked out is how early the preparation needs to start.
The most forward-thinking firms are starting to think about working with partners in their 40s – long before retirement is anywhere near the agenda. Building an external profile, getting trustee or NED experience, relationships and reputation that exist outside the firm. A parallel CV, alongside the professional one – that also helps the firm.
It sounds straightforward. But it creates a real tension: how do you encourage partners to build a life beyond the firm without them deciding that life looks more attractive sooner than you’d planned?
We will share what we are hearing across firms – what’s being tried, what’s working and where the gaps are. We’ll then break into small groups to discuss:
What are the real risks of partners building a parallel CV earlier – for them and for the firm?
What do partners need to develop in their 40s to compete for NED and other roles later?
How can firms support both without one undermining the other?
