CL Talk

Kurt Schlachter on building a succession plan that holds up

Aug 25, 2026

In this episode of CL Talk, Tim Wilbur speaks with Kurt Schlachter, chief executive officer of Stringam Law, about succession planning at small and medium law firms — why it is universally discussed and rarely done well, and what it actually takes to get it right. Schlachter draws on his experience running one of Western Canada's largest regional firms to walk through the mechanics that most leaders avoid: how to transfer client relationships without losing them, why governance failures tend to surface long before anyone is thinking about succession, and what a compensation structure that holds together through a transition actually looks like. He also describes the tiered partnership model Stringam introduced in 2023 — and why he deliberately built it so income partners have real skin in the game rather than just a title.  The conversation covers the full arc of succession planning, from the first hard conversations with junior lawyers about thinking like owners, to the advice Schlachter gives to firm leaders considering a sale or merger: start early, or there may not be much to sell.  Schlachter is speaking on this topic at the Canadian Legal Summit in Toronto on October 14. Details and registration here.