law school employment : How To Quit

2008-04-07 12:49:32

( Legal )



So you’ve found law school employment, maybe you have even worked for court reporting agencies or found employment law attorney – but now you want to leave for greener pastures. Do you wish to know how to quit law school employment? How to make a graceful exit?

In fact, all the anxiety you feel about giving notice at law school employment is usually completely unnecessary. Some lawyers spend sleepless nights imagining how their partners will react. Others imagine that the situation will become abusive.

But you need to realize that most resignation situations aren’t as scary as you might imagine. Resignation is really a simple business transaction. You end one business relationship with the intent to start another. It’s really just a professional interaction – no matter how complicated the feelings of excitement, loyalty, pride and resentment might be.

When should you resign? Fridays are a good day – you bosses and colleagues will be able to think about it over the week-end. And you miss a lot of gossip mongering. If you give notice on a Friday you can also leave at the end of the work week – time to wrap things up.

Be prepared to give two weeks notice – tell your boss immediately when you’ll be leaving – you don’t have to negotiate this. No boss will argue with 2 weeks. Don’t believe you have to stay longer – 2 weeks is more than enough.

Prepare a resignation letter – don’t make it long. Make it short, precise and gracious. It should state:
- that you are resigning
- your last date of employment
- that you appreciate having worked for the firm
and wish them all the best.

Why be so gracious? It’s a question of maturity and professionalism. Aside from which you might need your boss to give you a reference – so why provoke him? And remember, the legal community is very small – and you don’t want to make enemies.

A lot of lawyers are afraid that their partners will become ill-tempered and resentful – but in fact usually the partner is quite gracious and even glowing in his recommendations to any future employer.

Expect your soon-to-be former boss to be professional – they most likely will be. If there is an exit interview, don’t even offer what you might think is constructive criticism, because it is likely to be taken badly. No matter what good terms you are on, leaving a job is like a break-up. Feelings run high and you don’t want to say something you will regret later.

Don’t leave anything but good feelings behind. ??? your work and be generous in bringing the necessary people up to speed about theirs. Don’t make anyone have to search for the information once you have left.

Send a short, gracious email to your colleagues before you leave and provide your forwarding information. Give accurate information to the human resources department in case they have follow-up questions.


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