Attorney Succession Planning – NJ Attorney Registration System Requirements

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 

As of September 26, 2025, the New Jersey Bar now requires that attorneys who are filling out their annual registration form include information relating to succession planning for their law practices.  This was the result of a study conducted by the New Jersey Lawyer’s Fund for Client Protection and the NJ Supreme Court Committee on Wellness in the Law. The resulting notice to the bar is accessible here.

The following are anticipated frequently asked questions (FAQs) relating to the required succession planning.

FAQ # 1 – What are the four options available to an attorney relating to law practice succession planning when the attorney is filing an annual registration with the New Jersey bar?

The updated attorney annual registration form referenced in the Notice to the Bar dated September 26, 2025 “will prompt NJ attorneys in private practice to disclose the status of any succession planning the attorney is undertaking for use of the unfortunate event of their incapacity, death, disbarment or other inability to practice.” The four categories for this are as follows:

• “Designate a Successor Attorney: Identify a New Jersey-licensed attorney who can protect client interests in the event of the registrant’s death, disability, or incapacity

• “Identify a Person with Knowledge: Provide contact information for someone (attorney or non-attorney) familiar with the location and access procedures for the attorney’s professional records

• “Document the Existence and Location of a Written Succession Plan: Indicate if a written succession plan has been created and specify its location (without filing or uploading the plan).

• “Acknowledge that No Plan Exists/Employer Responsibility: State if no succession plan currently exists; indicate if the attorney’s employer or firm is responsible for client files should the attorney become unavailable or unable to practice.”

FAQ # 2 – Will the proposed successor attorney receive any sort of notice that they have been so designated?

It is important that the successor attorney be given notice that they have been designated.  That way, if there is some problem that needs to be addressed at the outset—such as a conflict of interest for an attorney who has been walled off from certain clients that the law firm represents—it can be dealt with before such succession becomes necessary.

Consequently, as stated in the notice to the bar, “[t]hose who are identified as successor attorneys or persons with knowledge will receive an email confirming their designation.”

FAQ # 3 – Will the public be given the identity of the successor attorney so that a client or related party can contact them when and if needed?

The NJ bar has set up a system by which the public will be able to ascertain the identity and contact information for each successor that has been designated. It will be readily available so that the identity of that person(s) can be ascertained quickly, given the potential emergent circumstances when a succession plan needs to be invoked. “Updated resources and guidance for attorneys creating a plan as well as those serving as successor attorneys are available on the Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection webpage under “Succession Planning.” Notice to the Bar Dated September 26, 2025 at 2.

FAQ # 4 – Is there a means of obtaining answers to questions relating to attorney succession planning?

The NJ bar has set up a phone number and email for obtaining information relating to succession planning. “Questions regarding Attorney Succession Planning may be directed to the New Jersey Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection at 855-533-3863 (Option 2) or cpf.mbx@njcourts.gov.” Id.

FAQ # 5 – Are there specific provisions that should be included in a buy-sell agreement generally—whether involving New Jersey or otherwise—that are unique to law firm succession planning?

Clearly, the most simple and straightforward way of ensuring that a law firm succession plan is implemented is to prepare a buy-sell agreement that specifically defines the parameters for that succession plan. Normally, the typical buy-sell provisions will generally apply; however, there are a few that may be unique to law firms. The following is a nonexclusive list of three examples:

1. The agreement should include (or have attached) a power of attorney that is in a format which could be utilized to allow the managing partner of the firm to have a successor for purposes of signing attorney trust account checks. That is actually more complicated than it sounds, given the fact that there is typically a requirement that the firm inform IOLTA (or the corresponding agency for that state’s bar) of the signatory for that account. In other words, if it suddenly changes, there are filings that must be made, and the persons making those filings may—due to illness or death—be doing so without the availability of the attorney who is listed as the signatory. It is important to consider either a power of attorney or authorization that would allow the successor attorney to make that change (see above) and/or to have that successor attorney listed proactively as an alternate.

II. In a typical business, there will be a need to sign off on a range of accounting/tax forms that may have time sensitivity. However, in a law firm, there are also annual registrations that must be made under time constraints. Additionally, everything from filings fees to contracts with third-party vendors may involve the use of payment vehicles that must be funded from the business account of the firm, as to which the successor attorney may not have been listed as a signatory.

III. Any lawsuit in which the law firm may have appeared will typically require the name of an attorney who will be counsel of record. While requirements differ state-by-state, if an attorney who, for example, has been designated as trial counsel in a particular matter must be replaced, the firm needs to have authorization to do so both internally, as well as from the client and the court itself.

The Nissenbaum Law Group welcomes inquiries from NJ attorneys relating to succession planning for law firms.

This includes questions relating to the designation of successor counsel in the event that the registering attorney is unable to carry out their duties to their clients because they are incapacitated or deceased. Explore our NJ Ethics Practice page for more or contact us, today.