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Successor - sole practitioner |
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There are important rules about taking on sole practitioners. If the sole
practitioner’s discrete legal practice ceases, and that practitioner then
joins another firm, then that firm will succeed to his sole practitioner’s
practice.
This is so whether he joins as a principal or as an employee
(which is widely defined as including ‘anyone employed or otherwise
engaged – including under a contract for services – including, without
limitation, as a solicitor, lawyer, trainee solicitor or lawyer, consultant,
associate, locum, agent, appointed person, office or clerical staff
member or otherwise’). This is an incredibly wide definition.
The point to appreciate is that there is no way of avoiding this: if you take
on a sole practitioner then you are almost certainly running the danger
of being a successor practice. Furthermore, once those liabilities are
taken on you cannot get rid of them. For instance, if a sole practitioner
becomes a partner or employee of another firm (B) and then six months
later leaves to set up on its own again, his original liabilities will stay with
B because that firm remains a discrete legal practice. There will have
been no ‘transition’ and accordingly there is no possibility of a successor
arising. The bottom line, therefore, is that great thought is needed
before taking on any former sole practitioner, whether as a partner or
employee. Source: Zurich@risk.
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March 2007 |
