By MATT CHANDLER
mchandler@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1654

It's a scenario that can play out at any time with potentially far-reaching effects: An attorney passes away and his caseload of open files is left behind, with no contingency plan in place for clients.

The Erie County Bar Association saw it happen enough that it decided to develop the Confidential Lawyer Success Registry. Though not always due to death (an attorney can become incapacitated because of a sudden change in health, too), the Bar Association often fields calls from spouses, legal assistants and clients seeking help when an attorney is no longer able to handle his or her caseload.

"They look to us for help when an attorney suddenly dies or is somehow incapacitated and has made no provision for handling his or her client's affairs," said Scott Schwartz, an attorney with Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria LLP and current president of the Bar Association. "Lawyers have a duty to protect clients from adverse circumstances, and making advance arrangements for managing such circumstances will help avoid missing a court date, delaying a closing or otherwise compromising a client's interests."

The Erie County Bar Foundation is working with the association to develop and build awareness of the registry.

Similar to traditional estate planning, an attorney need only fill out a registry card naming a designee attorney. The designee will have access to pertinent information such as locations of active files, passwords and banking information for both IOLA and operating accounts. The hope is that in the event of an unforeseen occurrence, the designee can step in and seamlessly care for clients.

Larry Franco knows about the perils of playing catch-up firsthand. The Hurwitz & Fine PC attorney found himself in what he called a series of "nightmarish events" when he was forced to step in after an estate planning attorney passed away. In the absence of a succession plan, Franco was left to figure things out on the fly.

"I had been his estate planning attorney and had prepared his estate plan for his personal life," he said. "But I was not aware of the fact that he had not made any arrangements to carry on his law practice after he was gone.

"It could have a dramatic effect not only on the clients but on the rest of the legal community. Oftentimes there are other parties to a case and they are affected, as well."

In his experience, opposing counsel, clients and judges are understanding and often will work with an attorney who is trying to clean up a deceased attorney's caseload.

Without what he called a "very able staff" of the former attorney, as well as assistance from the legal community, resolving the cases would have been difficult. Knowing that other attorneys may not have such support, he is a strong advocate of the registry.

"This would be a huge advantage because it will allow for a designee to come in and smoothly transition and carry on the practice," Franco said. "Or at least unwind and conclude the practice and assist the attorney's clients."

The Bar Association reports that the majority of its members are solo or small-practice attorneys, so a program such as this is a real solution.

"We recognize that larger firms have resources in place to manage an attorney's clients and case-loads in these situations," said William Ilecki, president of the Erie County Bar Foundation. "However, more than 50 percent of our Bar's membership is made up of solo and small-firm practitioners."

Though the program is in the early stages, Schwartz expects a strong response from the Bar Associations 3,700 attorneys.

"We hope that eventually the database will contain a large number of attorneys practicing in Erie County," he said, "so that we can put an efficient system in place that allows for immediate response when the unexpected happens."