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I’m a midlevel who’s looking to make a move, either laterally or out of biglaw, in early 2022. My firm pays bonuses on 12/31. My search is active and I’m working with a recruiter who knows I’m very hesitant of any start date before February.

Would it be bad form or bridge-burning for me to accept an offer during this calendar year to start in February, take a vacation in January (1-2 weeks), and give notice right after my vacation? Do people do this or is it a faux pas?

I haven’t worked with anyone who has done this so explicitly but I’d really like to take a real vacation, and ironically January is what works best with my case schedule anyway looking ahead over the next five months.

I cannot give a direct answer to your question,but I do think that taking a vacation before giving notice is wise in order to make your career decision with a clear head while in a relaxed state of mind.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 01, 2021 4:11 pm

I’m a midlevel who’s looking to leave biglaw in early 2022. My firm pays bonuses on 12/31. My search is active and I’m working with a recruiter who knows I’m very hesitant of any start date before February.

Would it be bad form or bridge-burning for me to accept an offer during this calendar year to start in February, take a vacation in January (1-2 weeks), and give notice right after my vacation? Do people do this or is it a faux pas?

I haven’t worked with anyone who has done this so explicitly but I’d really like to take a real vacation, and ironically January is what works best with my case schedule anyway looking ahead over the next five months.

Side question for ya—do firms let you accept an offer and then start months after (e.g., did you recruiter mention any issues with that)? I've been mulling over possibly doing something similar, but I figured this never happens based on anecdotal evidence (I thought firms generally want you to start asap). I haven't been searching for exits because I figured it's too early but if what you're saying is possible, then maybe I'll start soon.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 01, 2021 4:40 pm

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 01, 2021 4:11 pm

I’m a midlevel who’s looking to leave biglaw in early 2022. My firm pays bonuses on 12/31. My search is active and I’m working with a recruiter who knows I’m very hesitant of any start date before February.

Would it be bad form or bridge-burning for me to accept an offer during this calendar year to start in February, take a vacation in January (1-2 weeks), and give notice right after my vacation? Do people do this or is it a faux pas?

I haven’t worked with anyone who has done this so explicitly but I’d really like to take a real vacation, and ironically January is what works best with my case schedule anyway looking ahead over the next five months.

Side question for ya—do firms let you accept an offer and then start months after (e.g., did you recruiter mention any issues with that)? I've been mulling over possibly doing something similar, but I figured this never happens based on anecdotal evidence (I thought firms generally want you to start asap). I haven't been searching for exits because I figured it's too early but if what you're saying is possible, then maybe I'll start soon.

OP here and my recruiter has told me firms will delay start dates into 2022 for hires made in Q4 of the year, so if I got an offer now I’d probably have trouble, but my goal is to get a good one in October or November and push the start date to February. Recruiter says many firms would rather do this than pay a full make-whole bonus, and I’d rather try to coast and take a long vacation on payroll anyway.

CanadianWolf wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 01, 2021 4:23 pm

I cannot give a direct answer to your question,but I do think that taking a vacation before giving notice is wise in order to make your career decision with a clear head while in a relaxed state of mind.

I like this a lot. I will definitely be telling people that I used the vacation to make sure I am choosing the right career path…

vacation is part of your comp. if you're unlimited, you're entitled to take the market 20 days per year

jotarokujo wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 01, 2021 6:13 pm

vacation is part of your comp. if you're unlimited, you're entitled to take the market 20 days per year

OP here and I am at an “unlimited” PTO firm, so just cashing out unused days is not an option for me. Forgot that some associates still accrue PTO because their firms haven’t yet screwed them as efficiently as mine.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 01, 2021 6:31 pm

jotarokujo wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 01, 2021 6:13 pm

vacation is part of your comp. if you're unlimited, you're entitled to take the market 20 days per year

OP here and I am at an “unlimited” PTO firm, so just cashing out unused days is not an option for me. Forgot that some associates still accrue PTO because their firms haven’t yet screwed them as efficiently as mine.

right, all the more reason to use your vacation

What about the situation of giving notice, but in your 2 week notice period, your firm pays the second portion of special bonuses. Example: give notice on sept 23 and last day would be oct 7, but your firm pays special bonus on sept 30. Would firms typically pay that special bonus to you still?

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 02, 2021 8:26 am

What about the situation of giving notice, but in your 2 week notice period, your firm pays the second portion of special bonuses. Example: give notice on sept 23 and last day would be oct 7, but your firm pays special bonus on sept 30. Would firms typically pay that special bonus to you still?

Generally with year-end bonuses the conventional wisdom is wait to give notice until it has hit your bank account. Some people have given notice before then and been fine. Special bonuses are new and unusual so who knows how firms will treat them, so that extra uncertainty would make me even more hesitant of providing my notice until that money is in my account.

You should absolutely squeeze in a 1-2 week vacation if you're leaving. Some partners might be annoyed but you won't burn any bridges.

Definitely don't give notice before the bonus money is in your bank account.

At a previous job before going into law I had a colleague who took about 2 months sick leave and short-term disability and quit as soon as she got back. It's kind of been in the back of my mind that, given how hard the firms work associates, I would basically applaud any colleague who took a mental health break or something, stretched it as far as possible, and then quit when they were back. Same with maternity/paternity/family care leave. Not the same as vacation of course, but it just seems to me that the firm is always so happy to mess up your weekends, evenings, family get togethers, vacations and anything else to make sure their profitable matters aren't interrupted. OP is entitled to take vacation morally if nothing else, but I tend to also think we should all be taking every benefit conceivably extractable from the firm. That's how they view us.

You should definitely do this, and it won’t be an issue. Not unusual at all.