A New Definition Of Retirement

One of the hardest life decisions that you will ever make is when to hang it up. Turn off the lights. Walk away.
Decades of feeling important, and sometimes even being important, will come to a close. Your raison d' etre, the quiet knowledge of being the go-to guy, The Fixer, the titan of your community, is gone in a day. How will all of those people get by without you? How will all of those people get by without you!!
If you have planned well, you will be fine financially.

But the aching question is what will you do with yourself that first morning, and every morning thereafter? There is just so much delayed travel that you can do, exotic places that you could not get to because you could not get away for more than a week or two. Will you wallow in self-pitying insignificance? Will you turn to alcohol or something else to numb the emptiness?

Or, will you pull up your adult pants to find that new passion, that new way to impact your changed world? What will be your sunset career? Volunteer or paid? Part-time or full-time? Will you still service your favorite clients and see your contacts? Or something completely and unexpectedly different than law?
Your after-career requires as much planning as your early career.