When should I give notice?
Answer:
You should give notice only after you have cleared all conflict and background checks with your prospective employer whose firm offer you have accepted. You should not ever give notice if any condition on the offer has not yet been met. Most firms require, at a minimum, conflict and reference checks before the offer becomes firm. Providing references from your present firm can be tricky. If you are certain that someone you have worked with at your present firm will provide your future employer with an excellent recommendation, you can feel comfortable that the conditions on your offer will soon be satisfied, and you may then confidently give notice of your impending departure. You can also consider providing references from a previous employer.How much
You should aim to provide at least two weeks’ notice in order to wrap up your current matters reasonably and responsibly. Your future employer will, in most cases, understand and appreciate your being conscientious and professional in representing your clients. Only under extremely rare circumstances should you feel that you can give less than two weeks’ notice. In such exceptional situations, you can try to gently suggest to your present employer that it may make sense for you to leave earlier. For example, if you have not been given any assignments lately and have very little or no billable work and the firm can readily have someone else take over the handling of the matters assigned to you, you may gracefully persuade the firm that it makes business sense for you to leave with less than two weeks’ notice. You should, however, go into the communication ready to work the entire two weeks.
There are situations when your current employer may be more amenable to your leaving with less than two weeks’ notice. Say for instance you are leaving your firm for an in-house attorney position. In that capacity, you may have authority to retain outside counsel. Given that your current firm may now be a prospective client of yours, your firm may be more sympathetic to having you leave with less than two weeks’ notice. Most people, however, leave a firm to accept a position with yet another firm. In such a case, you should be prepared to give your firm at least two weeks’ notice before departing.
See the following articles for more information:
- I Wish I Knew How to Quit You: The Guide to Making a Graceful Exit
- How Much Notice Should I Give My Current Boss While Still Keeping My Future Employer Happy?
- How to Gracefully Quit Your Current Employer for a New One
Summary: Learn when the right time is to give notice at your law firm and how long you should give them in this Q & A.
