When Giving Notice, Be Positive and Pick a Friday, Consultants Say
How and when do you tell your law firm that you are leaving for another job?
Timing can be tricky when you’re giving notice, according to a Law.com article by legal search consultants Valerie Fontaine and Roberta Kass.
Most new employers make their job offers contingent on references at your current firm. If your job search is confidential, ask your new employer to refrain from calling your present firm until conflicts checks are conducted, other references are checked, and all other contingencies are satisfied, they say.
When you deliver the news, a Friday afternoon is best, the article says. “Describe your decision to leave positively in terms of moving towards your goals (opportunity, variety of practice, money, advancement, a geographic move), rather than complain about leaving a less-than-ideal situation,” Fontaine and Kass advise.
The conventional wisdom about two weeks’ notice does not apply to lawyers, the article says. Client interests are most important, and that may mean staying with the law firm awhile if there is an important deadline or trial that is approaching.
Partners also need to check the restrictions in their partnership agreements, the story says. Some call for up to six months’ notice, although courts may be reluctant to enforce a restriction that interferes with a lawyer’s right to move or a client’s choice of counsel.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Six Wildman Harrold Partners Unsure When Firm Will Allow Them to Leave”
