Washington Lawyer - January 2017 - 22


FEATURE

INVESTMENT
PLANNING

FOR LAWYERS
How money smart are you?

Y

ears ago, when Michelle Cotter Richards
was hired out of law school to practice at
a large law firm, she admittedly had no
clue how to save money.

"I remember going from making less than nothing to
suddenly making six figures," says Richards, now an
executive coach and founder of MCR Strategies in
Washington, D.C. "And I remember thinking that I
suddenly had a lot of money, my fellow associates
suddenly had a lot of money, and we had no idea of what
to do with the money."

By Anna Stolley Persky

partner at Apogee Wealth Advisors in New York. "But it's
really important to identify your goals in life, and then to
plan how you are going to reach them."
Kimball advises lawyers to set up a long-term financial
plan for themselves and then revisit it occasionally.
"Your long-term strategy should match your goals, but
your priorities may change," says Kimball. "If you have
children, for example, you may not want to take as many
risks with your investments, and you may want to invest
in disability and life insurance."

Richards emphasizes that, at the time, she and her fellow
associates postponed saving money. For the most part,
they didn't research life insurance options or study the
various vehicles for investing their money.

And above all, says Kimball, don't let your lifestyle "gobble
up all your money."

Says Richards: "We didn't understand that we should
have been thinking about investing in our futures."
Luckily, the firm hired a financial planner to discuss
investment strategies with new associates.

CONSISTENT BABY STEPS

"At that point, I realized I needed to be more proactive
about saving money," says Richards.

"Always keep your goals in mind," says Kimball.

According to financial advisors, new lawyers often
mistakenly believe they must first tackle their student
loans. But because student loans are low interest, this
may not be the smartest way to allocate resources.

Richards' story is a familiar one. Lawyers, known for
working hard and playing hard, can neglect to squirrel
money away for emergencies.

"Don't have tunnel vision on your student loans," says
Michael Rettinger, a certified financial planner and vice
president of KFA Private Wealth Group in Vienna, Virginia.
"It may not make sense to just concentrate on paying off
your student loans."

And, according to financial advisors, too many lawyers
put off creating financial goals and following through on
long-term investment strategies.

More importantly, Rettinger says, new lawyers should
force themselves to "start small," but at least get into the
habit of saving.

"Sometimes, lawyers get so busy they ignore the topic of
their financial well-being," says Kerri Kimball, managing

"Start with a few hundred a month," says Rettinger. "But
save, because habits last a lifetime."

22 WASHINGTON LAWYER * JANUARY 2017 *
http://www.dcbar.org
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Washington Lawyer - January 2017
