Like many solo and small-firm lawyers, Silverman, 57, a divorce attorney in Reno, Nev., had been so busy building his practice that he had never taken any significant time off from work.

"We're all on a treadmill; the overhead just keeps going on," he said. But after practicing law for 32 years, he decided he needed a break.

That's why each February, Silverman packs his bags and takes an entire month off from work.

Last year, he went to Paris; this year, Jerusalem.

"I think I'm a better lawyer for it," he said. "I'm rested, I'm rejuvenated and I have incredible perspective now."

At some point in their careers, even the most dedicated lawyers will likely take some extended time off from work, according to experts. Like Silverman, it could be for a long vacation or sabbatical. Or, it could be due to an unforeseen event, such as an accident, illness or family emergency.

Whatever the reason, a long-term absence can cripple a practice and scare off clients. But with proper planning and solid back-up systems, experts say small-firm and even solo lawyers can bid adieu to their practices - at least temporarily.

Supportive Partners
Before he leaves each February, Silverman schedules ahead to clean up as much of his workload as possible. He tells opposing counsel when he'll be away, and then relies on his two partners and staff to provide backup while he is gone.

Both his partners were supportive, he said. "They said, 'Go with luck; we'll back you all the way.'"

Silverman said he volunteered to reciprocate, but both his partners are reluctant to take time off, at least for now. One of his partners is in his 30s; the other is in his 40s. When they get to their mid- to late 50s, Silverman said, they may decide, as he did, that they need some time off. Looking back, he regrets waiting so long to break away from work.

Before he left, Silverman briefed his partners and staff, and "shaped the cases to be able to sit for a month."

He told his clients ahead of time that he would be gone the month of February and which partner would provide coverage in case of emergency. Silverman emphasized to his clients that their cases were at a stage where, absent an emergency, the case would get a month of repose.

Although he was available to his clients by e-mail if anyone wanted to discuss something with him, none did.

"Clients understand, and there has never been a fuss," Silverman said.

While in Paris, Silverman rented an inexpensive room, worked on a guide to divorce that he's writing and relaxed.

"I ate well, smoked a pack of cigarettes a day, made breakfast, read the International Herald Tribune and smoked a cigar every morning. I drank coffee, walked around, went sightseeing and just goofed off," he said.

"I had no responsibilities whatsoever to anybody. I didn't have to be anywhere, do anything - nothing. And that's an incredible feeling," Silverman said. "You can't get that in a week's vacation or two week's vacation. It was unbelievable."

Because he travels off-season, his trips are relatively inexpensive.

During his month in Jerusalem, Silverman rented a small apartment in the Baaka quarter, traveled to Sinai, toured Israel by bus and spent several days at a yeshiva meeting Judaism teachers and thinkers.

"It's heaven," he said of his month off each year. "I'm just totally recharged and rejuvenated. And I know that in 11 months I'm going to do it again."

For solo and small-firm lawyers who haven't taken an extended period of time off from work, Silverman said, "I would recommend it. You're going to be a better lawyer if you do it, and a better person."

Getting Ready To Go
Over the past four decades, Joseph Garrison, 59, who practices employment law in New Haven, Conn., has taken several sabbaticals of about three months each. Recently, he and his wife returned from a five-week vacation in Eastern Europe. And he often takes at least three or four weeks off at a time for vacation.

How does he manage it?

"When you're getting ready to take a lengthy leave, you actually work pretty hard to tie up all the loose ends you can tie up," he said. The goal, he said, is to get cases to a point where they can rest for the period of the sabbatical.

Others in his six-attorney firm, which has had a sabbatical policy since the 1960s, have also taken extended vacations and three-month sabbaticals.

Each January, Garrison's firm holds a retreat. Any lawyer planning to take a sabbatical that summer notifies everyone during the retreat, so that there is a six-month lead-time.

"There's a fair amount of planning time," Garrison said. Sometimes, he said, lawyers at his firm notify their colleagues two years in advance of a sabbatical.

During the January retreat, all the attorneys in the firm discuss the cases of the lawyer planning to take a sabbatical and decide how to handle them in the attorney's absence. They decide which cases may need to be shifted over to someone else if they're active, which ones can get into settlement mode before the lawyer leaves, and when judges should be notified so that court proceedings are not scheduled while the lawyer is on sabbatical.

"It really wouldn't work at all if you tried to do this just two months ahead of time," said Garrison.

By planning ahead, the lawyer taking a sabbatical can leave without worrying about discovery deadlines or court dates.

"The key things have either been delegated to someone else, or they've been done," he said. "The whole issue is giving enough notice to everybody - your partners, the court and your clients. And if you do all of that, you find everybody says, 'That's great. Hope you enjoy yourself.'"

Nancy Byerly Jones, a practice management consultant in Banner Elk, N.C., said long-range planning is crucial to a successful sabbatical. By planning ahead, lawyers can reduce the number of new cases they accept as the start of sabbatical draws near, create their back-up systems, train staff and notify their clients.

Taking time off can certainly reduce a lawyer's income, but Garrison said attorneys in his firm are so diligent in managing their ca

"When they get back there's a little bit of a hiatus," he said. "But even so, the cases are in such good shape that they tend to move a little bit better and don't suffer the usual down time that cases might otherwise suffer."

Even if his income were affected, the time off from work would be worth it, Garrison said.

"What you do get is the benefit of a really great experience," he said. "And you're probably more loyal to a firm that would do something like that."

This article has been reprinted with the permission of Lawyers Weekly USA, the national newspaper for small law firms. To subscribe, please visit www.lawyersweeklyusa.com or call (800) 451-9998.

Copyright 2004 Lawyers Weekly USA