Dena Roche is a trusted advisor to California law firms and law-related businesses, helping her clients understand, prepare for and resolve the critical issues facing law firms every day. She acts as outside general counsel to law firms, and provides counsel on legal ethics, law firm structures, policies, transitions, and dissolutions.

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April 18, 2025 / Dena Roche

When Is It Time to Consider a Law Firm Dissolution?

Law firm dissolutions happen for a variety of reasons. They are not always linked to the firm’s poor economic health or failed management. But the end of a law firm (or of certain partnerships or affiliations) marks a critical time for law firm owners and their clients and must be handled with the utmost care. 

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February 13, 2025 / Dena Roche

Notice Anything? How to Handle Law Firm Notice Provisions for Departing Partners

Navigating notice provisions in a law firm partnership agreement is one of the thorniest parts of managing any partner or group departure. How a lawyer handles notice to their law firm can lead to dramatically different outcomes for their clients and themselves.

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January 01, 2025 / Dena Roche

Law Firm Resolutions for a Happy New Year

Now that your personal New Year’s resolutions are kaput, February is a good time to consider some resolutions for your law practice that will lead to a happier and healthier law firm. Like most resolutions, these are things that you want to do, and probably know that you should do, but may have been avoiding or just haven’t yet gotten done.

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November 14, 2024 / Dena Roche

Why Smart Lawyers Get Counsel for Law Firm Departures

Odds are that most lawyers will decide to change law firms at least once during their career, and for many, likely more than once.

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October 18, 2024 / Dena Roche

Managing Partner Departures So They Are Not Bad for Business

The effects of partner departures are rarely positive. But even if the right partners leave, partner departures can be bad for business. And while partner departures can present great risks for the firm—they can also present great opportunities—if you are prepared.

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July 14, 2024 / Dena Roche

Partner Daniel O’Rielly interviewed in Law Practice Magazine

Mr. O’Rielly was interviewed for the ABA’s Leadership Issue of the Law Practice Magazine.

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June 14, 2024 / Dena Roche

Partner Daniel O’Rielly Presents to the Managing Partners’ Roundtable

“Partnership Agreements and Compensation as they Relate to Firm Culture and Succession Planning”

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April 14, 2024 / Dena Roche

Partner Daniel O’Rielly Appointed Vice-Chair of COPRAC

The State Bar appointed partner Daniel O’Rielly Vice-Chair of the Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct for 2024-2025.

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March 14, 2024 / Dena Roche

Partner Kendra Basner is Elected President of the international Association of Professional Liability Lawyers (APRL)

Ms. Basner will serve as APRL’s President for one year from August 2024 through August 2025. APRL is the leading bar association for legal ethicists and professional responsibility lawyers.  APRL’s members include lawyers, law professors, judges, and others from the United States, Canada, and the UK who work in the area of, or are concerned with, the regulation […]

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February 14, 2024 / Dena Roche

Partner Kendra Basner is Quoted in Forbes Article

“How Lawyers Arrange Lawsuit Payments While Watching for Ethical Traps,” by Jeremy Babener

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