For many years, Ohio farmers, landowners and agriculturalists have received monthly doses of legal advice from attorney Robert Moore in this Country Counsel column.

But as I finalize the purchase of his firm, Wright & Moore Law Co. LPA in Delaware, Ohio, he and I will now share responsibilities for this column.

This change of leadership represents a new chapter for our firm, and the planning process over the past year revealed so many great lessons for successful business transitions.

First and foremost, Wright & Moore is completing its transition with Robert and his wife, Kelly, continuing in their current roles. Keeping the veteran business owners on the team will be a key part of our long-term success.

Despite transitioning ownership and management of the office, Robert and Kelly will remain with the firm to continue advising existing clients, mentoring team members and passing along their business acumen to me.

Next, very early in the process, Robert, Kelly and I mapped out what the transition would look like. This included a list of key topics we needed to address, partners we needed to engage and the timeline to complete major tasks. This transition map kept us honest about the succession work and ensured we kept the process moving in a timely fashion.

For our final lesson, despite being in the business of succession planning, we felt that outside partners and advisers were instrumental to a successful plan. Our firm accountant, bookkeeper, financial adviser, insurance agent, legal practitioners and other confidants provided us with valuable guidance along the way.

For years, we have preached the importance of assembling a succession planning team for moving farms from one generation to the next. Once again, it was our time to follow the same recommendations.

You will be seeing and hearing more from Robert as he takes a position with Ohio State University Extension. In the meantime, Wright & Moore is proud to continue sharing practical, pertinent legal lessons with the Ohio agriculture industry for years to come.

If you are seeking solutions to a farm-related issue, contact us at ohiofarmlaw.com to start the conversation.

Conklin is an attorney and new owner of Wright & Moore Law Co. LPA.