Backing out of an acceptance Forum

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Backing out of an acceptance

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Oct 17, 2010 3:49 am

So a smaller (30-or-so attorneys) non-NALP firm extends an offer and says I have two weeks to accept or decline. I'm still under consideration at a few other firms (two others, in fact, both of which I'd prefer over the offering one), but those two can't give me a final decision before that deadline. I feel like it'd be dumb to turn down any paying job without being secure in the knowledge that I have a better option... but I'd also much rather work at the other places.

It's clearly poor form to accept an offer and then go back on it... but if I end up accepting and then get an offer from one of the other firms, is there really anything stopping me from doing it? I don't really care if one law firm (that I don't really want to work for) thinks I suck, as long as I'm happier with where I'm going. Is there a rule that I'd be breaking should this situation arise?

Like I said, obviously I know it's frowned upon and I wouldn't want to have to do it that way, but I guess I'm curious if there'd be some horrible consequence that I'm failing to consider in thinking about this...

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Re: Backing out of an acceptance

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Oct 17, 2010 10:19 am

Anonymous User wrote:So a smaller (30-or-so attorneys) non-NALP firm extends an offer and says I have two weeks to accept or decline. I'm still under consideration at a few other firms (two others, in fact, both of which I'd prefer over the offering one), but those two can't give me a final decision before that deadline. I feel like it'd be dumb to turn down any paying job without being secure in the knowledge that I have a better option... but I'd also much rather work at the other places.

It's clearly poor form to accept an offer and then go back on it... but if I end up accepting and then get an offer from one of the other firms, is there really anything stopping me from doing it? I don't really care if one law firm (that I don't really want to work for) thinks I suck, as long as I'm happier with where I'm going. Is there a rule that I'd be breaking should this situation arise?

Like I said, obviously I know it's frowned upon and I wouldn't want to have to do it that way, but I guess I'm curious if there'd be some horrible consequence that I'm failing to consider in thinking about this...

1. I'd advise you to call the two firms you are waiting to here from, and let them know you have a deadline approaching. I've done this a couple times, and ended up getting offers a few days before the deadline. The key is to make sure you alert them with enough time for the committe to meet; I'd say two weeks is enough. I'm not sure if you've done this already. I'd also call the small firm and ask for an extension of a week or two.

2. I do believe there are situations where it is ok to go back on an acceptance. I don't think this is one of them. Don't accept the offer if you "don't really want to work for" the smaller firm.

3. There really are no consequences. People on TLS cite issues with your CSO, malice towards students from your school by that firm, and of course your legal reputation. The only one of those that directly affects you is the reputation part. If both firms are in the same market, this will be an issue. Those people know each other, they talk. Even if it's a different market, the legal community is smaller than you think; I've run into attorneys on the other side of the country that knew attorneys I had worked with (I think that is less of a concern if your other options are like v100's though; people in those firms seem to be fairly disconnected IMO).

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dood

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Re: Backing out of an acceptance

Post by dood » Sun Oct 17, 2010 2:13 pm

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Last edited by dood on Sun Oct 24, 2010 4:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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20160810

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Re: Backing out of an acceptance

Post by 20160810 » Sun Oct 17, 2010 3:39 pm

When you back out of an acceptance, you potentially screw over (1.) a firm that was goodly enough to make you an offer, since this late in the game they might have trouble recruiting another SA - and since they were a 30-person shop, they're likely only hiring 1, and (2.) the class of 2013 at your school, since it's almost a guarantee that the 1 person they make an offer to next year will be from somewhere else.

Besides which, the best assumption is that you're probably not getting more offers anyway, given that it's almost November. The firms where you're still "under consideration" are likely just waiting for acceptances from other people to whom they've already made offers. Call them and try to leverage your existing offer, of course, but don't be surprised if you end up with butkus.

My advice is to wait until the deadline just in case, and then accept the firm offer you have on the table and be glad that ITE you even have that when so many people got shut out.

You only get one professional reputation. The legal community is much, much smaller than you think. Burn bridges at your own peril.

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dood

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Re: Backing out of an acceptance

Post by dood » Sun Oct 17, 2010 4:09 pm

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Last edited by dood on Sun Oct 24, 2010 4:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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chup

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Re: Backing out of an acceptance

Post by chup » Sun Oct 17, 2010 7:48 pm

dood wrote:
G. T. L. Rev. wrote:
dood wrote:u gotta do what u gotta do bro. accept and then renege if u get better. being able to make difficult decisions is an important part of life. id be honest when reneging though: "i apologize, i know its poor form and reflects very very poorly on my character, and i am truly sorry, but after considering everything, i just have to do whats best for #1, i hope u understand."

but dont listen to what TLS says about the consequences. if anything, the most they will do is report it to ur cdo, if they were an OCI firm. even then, whats the worst that can happen - u dont get to use CDO services anymore.....but who gives a shit, u already got a jorb.
Unprofessional advice phrased in even more unprofessional terms.

It could be the case that withdrawing your first acceptance is ok here, but the likelihood of that being the case is slim. There are good reasons why the prevailing view is that you may not renege on an acceptance, not least of which have to do with the fact that your reputation is at stake. The legal world is surprisingly small, and you proceed at your own hazard when you do something like this (again, subject to very narrow exceptions). Whatever you do, make sure you carefully listen to and consider the advice of your career services office first.
actually i take back wut i said. u should accept every jorb u get and then collect $3100/wk from each said firm until they notice u are only showing up every couple of days. then slowly quit firms, staying with the one u really like. but i bet u could collect at least $6-12Gs before they find out. just like juggling 3 GFs: actually really easy. good luck brah.
You're retarded, and your trolling is awful.

CanadianWolf

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Re: Backing out of an acceptance

Post by CanadianWolf » Sun Oct 17, 2010 7:51 pm

In my culture, "no" means "yes" & "yes" means "no".

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dood

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Re: Backing out of an acceptance

Post by dood » Sun Oct 17, 2010 7:52 pm

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