Resigning by email Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hey all quick question,

I received a job offer today that I will likely take.

I work for a small firm of around 15 attorneys. I work under two partners. One of the partners (the one who hired me and is also a named partner) works in a different office which is out of state. I talk to him on the phone about once monthly and have met him in person twice. The other partner works in my office. The partner in my office is not a named partner and is not a decision maker in the firm.

I have only resigned from one job and wanted thoughts on whether it would be unprofessional to resign with the out of state partner by email. The only reason I would do so by email is because he is out out of state. I also thought about resigning with the local partner and letting him inform the out of state partner.

Thanks.

[minnbills]

Why not give him a call?

[misterjames]

Call the named partner and tell him, then tell the other partner in person right after (so he doesn't hear it from the named partner before you). I'd say this is the most professional way to handle the situation.

[minnbills]

+1

[ap1987]

Call the named partner and tell him, then tell the other partner in person right after (so he doesn't hear it from the named partner before you). I'd say this is the most professional way to handle the situation.

Cool, I like this idea thanks.

[CanadianWolf]

Depends upon whether or not you are open to being talked into staying at your current firm.

Email may be better if you have already accepted the other position & have no desire to stay at your current law firm.

If you call, the name partner might control the conversation & that could lead into an explanation of why you are leaving. If you resign by email, then you control the communication & don't need to cast blame.

[CanadianWolf]

After thinking about your situation for a bit longer, I encourage you to control the parting communication & resign via email. A writing creates a record for both you & the firm. Plus, sometimes folks get upset when another resigns. Best to have a clean, documented break.

[Subban_Fan]

After thinking about your situation for a bit longer, I encourage you to control the parting communication & resign via email. A writing creates a record for both you & the firm. Plus, sometimes folks get upset when another resigns. Best to have a clean, documented break.

I agree with this, especially if there's any chance they could be upset. Also, you can craft an email very respectfully to say what you want to say, and reread to ensure the tone is what you want it. It's a little harder to control where a phone call goes (easier to get caught off guard), especially if you don't do this often. If you write your Email well it can come off more polite than a call. Also, you might get a call from the partner who hired you anyways.

After you send your Email, you can go to the partner in the office and tell him face to face. If they try to convince you to stay, that's a very good conversation to have, not a bad one https://media2.giphy.com/media/VTxmwaCEwSlZm/200.gif

[spha12]

Have a conversation with these people. The memorialize by email. They deserve a conversation or for you to actually call them. I get it, we're the texting generation. But that doesn't change the right approach here.

[omar1]

Call and tell him you're resigning. Then talk to the other partner in person. After that, write two-three sentences resignation letter, sign it, scan and send to both.

[CanadianWolf]

Interesting advice in the above two posts. Guess that advice proffered depends upon experience--both quality & quantity. I simply don't understand or agree with the advice offered above based on experience.

P.S. As I wrote above in this thread, if you are open to staying at your current law firm, then a call is appropriate.

If you have a conversation first, then memorialize by email (as an above poster suggested), you lose control & are subject to a counter email. I understand that some may view this as an overly cautious approach to protect your interests, but if you're not paranoid (without showing it), you're not doing it right.

[pancakes3]

i'd talk to the local partner first, then call the name partner. i don't think you owe any extra allegiances to the guy who hired you if he's out of state and you only talk only once a month. the local partner is "your boss."

[CanadianWolf]

But couldn't that place the local non-decision making partner in a bad light with the out-of-state partner ? Might get twisted into "his/her work was unsatisfactory & I suggested looking elsewhere or even to an on the spot termination.

[pancakes3]

people leave for better opportunities all the time. i'm sure a small 15-person firm (split between at least 2 offices in different states) has turnover all the time.

even if it devolves into some crazy petty bs, OP already has a job lined up.

[AVBucks4239]

Accidental double post...

[AVBucks4239]

I recently resigned from a 25 lawyer firm. I mainly worked under 3-4 partners and told all of them in person at about 4:00 on the day I intended to put in my notice. I sent my letter of resignation to the board at about 6:00 PM. This largely went over pretty well, but...

After thinking about your situation for a bit longer, I encourage you to control the parting communication & resign via email. A writing creates a record for both you & the firm. Plus, sometimes folks get upset when another resigns. Best to have a clean, documented break.

One of the partners absolutely blew a gasket when I left. He'd been planning to retire in a couple months and was transitioning a big client to me. The transition of this client was key to his retirement, and he let me know how pissed he was that I was leaving months before he had planned to retire. That said, I took it on the chin and, although things were a bit awkward for the next two weeks, I'd probably tell him in person again.

[Subban_Fan]

people leave for better opportunities all the time. i'm sure a small 15-person firm (split between at least 2 offices in different states) has turnover all the time.

even if it devolves into some crazy petty bs, OP already has a job lined up.

The fact that it's a small firm would be my only hesitation to do it through Email. At a big firm (or any company with more than 300 people), I'd do it by Email for sure -- to your boss, CC HR, BCC your personal Email. You're just a cog in the wheel. There were probably numerous versions of you, and a bunch of others after that. They'll fill your position in a few weeks and if they suck, can them and redo it all over again.

At a small firm, way more tight knit and it's more of a financial sacrifice for small businesses to hire you versus a Fortune 500 company. On the flip side, small firms have less HR protocols (slightly easier to screw you over if they're not nice people).

Like CanadianWolf, I am paranoid about these things. And I've seen some weird stuff happen.

You can also do it through Youtube. You can control what you say, you have a record of it, and it's more personal than an Email https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85kDDSeNwVw

[CanadianWolf]

Another area of concern is if you need to obtain a security clearance to work for or with the Federal Government. Depending upon the security level, even a suspicion of malfeasance can cause problems many years later. (If you think that I am exaggerating, talk to someone who has needed a low level federal security clearance but had even one past due bill.) It is best to control your departure terms for a variety of reasons.

I live in an area where almost all neighbors have US Government security clearances & I have been interviewed several times regarding neighbors & family members, so I am certain that past employers are checked out or interviewed.

I have also settled, never went to litigation, a handful of employment matters over the past couple of decades & have been surprised at what is in an employee's file.