PKF Francis Clark have recently run a couple of online sessions for members/partners of law firms.  The first was aimed at partners in law firms who are thinking ahead about relevant practical and tax issues concerning their retirement and the second was aimed at partners at the other end of their career who are going to become self-employed partners for the first time during 2026. 

Both sessions were run by Sonia Fisher, a partner in the legal sector team who advises law firms on accountancy, tax, SRA compliance and a wide array of strategic issues and Mike Furniss, a senior chartered financial planner in our Financial Planning team who advises law firm partners on all aspects of financial planning.

The session aimed at partners who are considering retirement in the next few years covered the following areas:

• Your tax impacts and the impact on the firm
  • Exploring options for tax planning, including pension contributions
  • Understanding tax payments in final years
  • Deciding between full retirement, consultancy or reduced hours
  • Structure of possible consultancy business after retirement
  • Consideration of where assets are held within the family post-retirement
  • Understanding your members’ agreement and its implications
  • Assessing the impact of your retirement on the firm
• What does your retirement look like?
  • Understanding if income requirements are realistic and sustainable
  • Cashflow planning and its impacts
  • Exploring 'what if?' scenarios
• Markets, pensions and other investments
  • What is happening in the markets?
  • How to position your assets pre-retirement and post-retirement
  • Pensions – where are your funds invested and how are they performing?
  • Exploring alternative investments and their role in tax-efficient retirement income
• The non-financial impacts of leaving a partnership
  • Addressing the emotional and psychological aspects of retirement

The session aimed at new partners, which is also useful for existing partners who are still relatively new to the role and getting to grips with some of the issues and terminology around self-employment, covered the following areas:

• Member status and taxation of profits:
  • How do members report taxable income to HMRC for tax purposes?
  • How are taxable profits determined for a member of an LLP?
  • What rate of tax will I pay?
  • How will my tax bills be paid?
• Member investment in the LLP:
  • What is a capital account and why do I have to pay this to my LLP when I become a member?
  • Are there any rules around the amount of capital required in law firms?
  • How can I fund my capital account?
  • How will my investment/interest in the LLP be reflected in the financial accounts?
• Deed of adherence/members’ agreement advice:
  • Understanding what you will be agreeing to as a new member
• Tax relief and domestic tax planning:
  • Tax relief on domestic running costs
  • Tax relief on motor vehicles running costs
  • Purchasing motor vehicles for business use
  • Home office equipment
  • Domestic tax planning
• Pension considerations and other benefits - key financial planning points for new partners:
  • Loss of employer pension contributions
  • Pension consolidation
  • Maximising tax‑efficient pension funding
  • Protection of income
  • Life cover needs
  • Cashflow planning when profits fluctuate
  • Building financial resilience as a self‑employed individual

If either of these sessions are of interest to you or someone else in your firm do please use the links below to find the pre-recorded sessions.

Becoming a self-employed member of a law firm webinar recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-_8_Gn5d7E

Retirement from a law firm webinar recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqFXLjr55Hg