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Boomer lawyers are retiring in record numbers. Many are the same ones with the biggest book of business. Does your firm have a strategy to transition those clients to your firm’s younger generation? And remember: hope is not a strategy.

Retirement, for most Americans, lasts about 15-20 years. Many plan for it in a very one-dimensional manner. That is, they only think about whether they will have enough money to live the life they want. Few, however, think about what they are actually going to do during those years, and how to best plan for that.

The number of attorneys practicing after reaching the age of 65 has grown by more than 50% in the past decade. Roughly 15% of all practicing lawyers are 65 or older. As a group, we also seem to work longer than others. Only 7% of the general workforce stays employed beyond 65.

I’ve written before about how buying a law firm can be a very effective, low-risk, and low-cost means to grow a practice. That said, what is it about the legal profession that, on occasion, makes it more challenging to sell a practice than hoped? As a consultant and coach, I’ve worked with hundreds of lawyers of all shapes and sizes in virtually every state and practice area. From that experience, I’ve become somewhat of an expert in understanding the DNA of those in our profession. Here are three fundamental truths in the DNA that impact buyer behavior. I call them the “do-nots.”

With so many lawyers contemplating retirement, your law firm succession plan has never been more important. Take a careful look at your law firm’s most influential leaders and biggest rainmakers. Chances are good that these individuals will be retiring over the next decade. Is your law firm prepared for this seismic generational transition? The impact will be felt well beyond the law firm itself.

For years, selling a law practice was prohibited because ethics regulators believed clients, files, and a firm’s goodwill were not something that could be sold. Regulators feared that clients would be treated like merchandise. Other ethics worries included the possibility of sharing fees with a non-lawyer (spouse of a deceased lawyer) and the ban on payments to anyone for recommending the lawyer’s services.

Lawyers are typically not a reflective lot. We rarely spend time taking a step back to ask, “What am I trying to accomplish here?” Instead, most lawyers just “shoot and then ask questions.” This dynamic is present at the time of retirement when determining an exit strategy. And even when the timing of the exit is carefully thought out, the exit strategy goals are often not.

Some of my clients are estate planning lawyers. When I recently followed up with one of them, I came across an excellent blog post by this particular lawyer titled “A Baker’s Dozen of Why People Procrastinate About Their Estate Plan.” I had always suspected that the people who delayed putting their estate plans in order were similar to the small firm owner-lawyers I know who avoid succession planning.