The cats need a break from all these legal disputes. Every time they look over the hedge and see Bowser, without a care in the world, playing with one of his toy bones, they think of all of their missed opportunities and frustrated plans. If they look to the house on the other side of our property, they see Pee Wee, the little indoor cat, sitting on her window ledge with a smug look on her face, and the cats are reminded of their failed efforts to satisfy their grievances against that little ball of fur. As they look from our deck to the lot behind our house they see the Jackrabbit hopping along with his stupid floppy ears, and the cats are brought back to the lawsuit filed against them by the Jackrabbit’s Portland attorney. They avoid me altogether. I am done bailing them out of their legal difficulties.
The cats call their retired friend, now seemingly their only friend in the world, the Old Tom, who takes his time creaking over to the phone on his arthritic joints. He suggests that it is time that the cats retired, and he invites them to come up to his home in the San Juans for a visit. The cats agree and inform me that they are going to transfer all of their business interests to a capable successor. They want to have a business succession plan prepared, and they place a call to their San Francisco attorneys, but their attorneys are out of the office for three weeks on a tour of Pago Pago. Reluctantly, they consult me.
I tell the cats that the most important aspect of a business transition plan is the competence, fairness and integrity of their successor. The cats nod their heads in agreement, having none of these qualities themselves. I mention to the cats that I have found someone to take over my law practice and that she has all of these qualities. The cats are alarmed. They are concerned that with less income in retirement I may attempt to substitute a less expensive cat food for their Fancy Feast. I assure them that everything will go on as before, but that they and I will no longer be pursuing our vocations. The cats glance at me with suspicion and decide to check the cupboard where I keep their cat food. They want to see for themselves that the shelves hold only Fancy Feast and not some inferior brand.
On May 1, 2017, Allen Drescher entered into a business transition plan with attorney Cheri Elson Sperber, and they formed the law firm of Drescher Elson Sperber. On July 1, 2017, Allen will retire after more than 44 years of practicing law, and Cheri will continue his law practice with competence, fairness and integrity.
© Allen Drescher
