Giving Notice after VERY Short Tenure Forum

[Anonymous User]

How would you all suggest giving notice after a very short tenure (think 3-4 months)?

I lateraled to my current Vault firm from another Vault firm (so think traditional biglaw) 3-4 months ago. The short of the story is that a boutique firm that only hires ~2-3 people every year, 1 person in my niche every 3-4 years, is extremely selective (i.e. exclusively T14 honor hires), and has a very realistic path to partnership that is outlined in my offer letter (like most boutiques, the firm is extremely partner heavy (think 80%)), reached out to me a couple of weeks ago to interview for the position. It's basically a firm filled with a ton of biglaw burnouts who enjoy practicing law but want to do it less and are OK with 80% biglaw comp.

I had originally applied when I moved from my initial firm, but there were no openings (I had just sent in my materials to recruiting saying "hey, do you have any openings?"). Now, there is an opening, and they reached out. The interviews were truly amazing, and this is an opportunity I'll probably never get again, so I took the job.

How do I exit here in the least painful and least bridge burning way? I'm well liked and have been getting a lot of work (and good feedback), so I imagine there is going to be some unhappiness. They, like all other biglaw shops, are also hurting for bodies, so that doesn't help.

[Anonymous User]

It sounds like you’re gonna burn bridges but that it’s worth it. Just don’t leave a bad taste by seeming overly apologetic or seeming like you think you’re better than your colleagues for scoring a “highly selective rare position” (like the above is fine for a TLS post but would be a bad look if you repeated it in this amount of detail to a partner to explain why you’re leaving).

The fact you’re so new means no one will REALLY care on a personal level and they’ll forget about you in a year, except a handful of people who will hold it against you no matter what you do. Just remember the entire business is inherently transactional.

[12YrsAnAssociate]

I think it would be fair to mention the partnership prospects part, and it would give them feedback on what's important if they're interested in retention.

[Anonymous User]

Just be gracious. Say enough to color some form of "I've decided this is the right opportunity for me and my career," and say nothing more. You are not obligated to justify your reasoning to the current firm, nor have you been there long enough to have even the slightest moral obligation to help it "understand." This is a business. You're allowed to look out for yourself first, and unapologetically so.

If, as you say, the new firm is one-of-a-kind, your current firm will understand that you've fallen into fortunate circumstance. If it's not, your colleagues may rightly conclude that you've fallen for another firm's tired recruiting trope. Either way, it won't matter, as long as you communicate the decision to the current firm with tact and transition your matters appropriately. Beyond this, all you control is whether you stay or go.

[LBJ's Hair]

agree w/above poster. you can spin it all you want, but bottom line is it sounds like you're leaving your current firm w/in three months of starting, to take the same job, at another law firm, in the same city.

this might annoy some of the people you're working with. and even the ones who aren't annoyed (it's your life, after all) probably aren't gonna think "of course s/he's leaving our shitty firm for this amazing boutique."

but if you think this is the right move, do it. nothing you can really do but be professional in your communications.

(if you haven't, I would try to independently confirm the "working reasonable hours" part; pretty hard to get (a) BigLaw-level sophistication, and (b) low leverage with (c) good lifestyle)

[Anonymous User]

(... pretty hard to get (a) BigLaw-level sophistication, and (b) low leverage with (c) good lifestyle)

+100, especially at a "boutique" (i.e. middle market). Some friends in my major market left biglaw for firms that sound like the one OP describes. The promised reasonable annual hours were not actually so reasonable. In mid-law, it is feast-famine. There is too much work, but not enough people to do it because there are fewer bodies; or there is not enough work to get to the billable target and so you stress about that. And, because comp isn't market, the heavy periods aren't even worth it even if you have enough work for a bonus.

[nixy]

Yeah, I think some people will be annoyed no matter what you, you just need to do what you think is best for you. In this context I think it can help if you emphasize them reaching out to you - you can’t escape the implication that you think the new firm is better, but if you can make clear that you weren’t actively looking, I think that can help a little (you weren’t trying to bail on the current firm; you just got an offer you couldn’t refuse).