Question about being fired & future employment Forum

[throwawayforsafety]

Using a throwaway, but I am currently a rising 2nd year in a V10 firm. My hours are pretty shite for a mix of reasons - burnout, hate the work, bad firm culture, personal stuff. I am expecting to get let go as there were a few signs and was told my hours are low. I have an exit starting summer 2021, but may not make it long enough in biglaw. If I am let go, would future employers see me as fired or let go? Or will it be "attorney was employed between X and Y and left"?

I'm considering jumping to another firm for 6-8 months just to prevent a blemish like that on my background check if it came up.

Thanks for any wisdom you can provide.

[Anonymous User]

Using a throwaway, but I am currently a rising 2nd year in a V10 firm. My hours are pretty shite for a mix of reasons - burnout, hate the work, bad firm culture, personal stuff. I am expecting to get let go as there were a few signs and was told my hours are low. I have an exit starting summer 2021, but may not make it long enough in biglaw. If I am let go, would future employers see me as fired or let go? Or will it be "attorney was employed between X and Y and left"?

I'm considering jumping to another firm for 6-8 months just to prevent a blemish like that on my background check if it came up.

Thanks for any wisdom you can provide.

I was in the same position as you. My firm was not quite so high on the Vault list, but I was a 2nd year with low hours. I hated the work; it was a bad firm culture; and I had a bunch of personal stuff going on. I was fired right around the two-year mark. I was out of a job for some months, but the firm only told my potential future employers that I was employed between certain dates. It was, then, up to me to explain to potential employers why I left. I could have lied and said I was having health or other issues, but I decided to just tell the truth.

It depends on how your firm does it, but I don't know of any firm that will try to trash you to future employers. I imagine if you committed sexual harassment or something else serious that it would affect you badly. But, other than that, it's up to you how you wish to divulge this information. I will tell you that it probably will come up in interviews, at least if you will be interviewing at another firm. If it's government work or non-profit work, it likely won't come up.

[throwawayforsafety]

Using a throwaway, but I am currently a rising 2nd year in a V10 firm. My hours are pretty shite for a mix of reasons - burnout, hate the work, bad firm culture, personal stuff. I am expecting to get let go as there were a few signs and was told my hours are low. I have an exit starting summer 2021, but may not make it long enough in biglaw. If I am let go, would future employers see me as fired or let go? Or will it be "attorney was employed between X and Y and left"?

I'm considering jumping to another firm for 6-8 months just to prevent a blemish like that on my background check if it came up.

Thanks for any wisdom you can provide.

I was in the same position as you. My firm was not quite so high on the Vault list, but I was a 2nd year with low hours. I hated the work; it was a bad firm culture; and I had a bunch of personal stuff going on. I was fired right around the two-year mark. I was out of a job for some months, but the firm only told my potential future employers that I was employed between certain dates. It was, then, up to me to explain to potential employers why I left. I could have lied and said I was having health or other issues, but I decided to just tell the truth.

It depends on how your firm does it, but I don't know of any firm that will try to trash you to future employers. I imagine if you committed sexual harassment or something else serious that it would affect you badly. But, other than that, it's up to you how you wish to divulge this information. I will tell you that it probably will come up in interviews, at least if you will be interviewing at another firm. If it's government work or non-profit work, it likely won't come up.

Thank you for the reply. Also apologies for a double post (not sure how that happened). Fortunately, I have another 6 months until my official 2year mark or so. Also good I dont have any crazy things like sexual harassment that I know of. Since my exit will be non-law and a complete reset, as long as there isnt any flag or "have you been terminated" type questions I should be in the clear. Super helpful!