Ann Israel is the legal profession's Dear Abby. A New York legal recruiter since 1979, Ann is a past president of the National Association of Legal Search Consultants. Advice for the Lawlorn is updated every Tuesday.

Q:I am looking to move to New York City from a large secondary market. My law firm has an office in New York, but while it is an Am Law 100 firm and ranked respectably on Vault, it's a small fish in a large pond in New York City. In its own market, it is a large fish in a small pond: In fact, it is one of the few elite firms in its market and matches New York salary.

If I choose to contact firms directly or use a recruiter, how do I hide the identity of my current law firm? Can I just write "Major Law Firm" or "Biglaw Firm"? Must I disclose the city and state? (Though, I have a section on my résumé that shows all of my licenses, so I assume that they will be able to figure out what state I'm in.)

Can I disclose my current law firm orally to a recruiter so that he or she knows not to send my résumé to my firm's New York office? How careful do I need to be about this?

Also, instead of providing references from my law firm, can I, initially, provide references from the law firm I worked for prior to my current law firm? (It was a boutique law firm, though).

At what stage does one provide references from one's current law firm during a job search? I don't want to tip off my current law firm without knowing I have a good chance of getting the job in New York City.

Thanks!

Jumping Ship

Dear Shipmate: I don't know why you want to hide the identity of your current law firm during your job search. I suspect that you are going to put yourself in a position where both law firms and recruiters are not going to be interested in meeting with you unless you are willing to allow full disclosure to your background, including your current employer.

Once in a great while I receive a phone call from a potential candidate who does not want to tell me where he or she is currently employed. How can I help this person if they don't trust me enough to let me know where they are working? Conversely, how can I trust them if they won't tell me where they work?

But forget about me ... think about potential employers. Can you imagine a potential employer receiving a résumé with the current employer hidden? What would one imagine?

I believe that people understand what might happen if they contact your current employer. Why would anyone want to jeopardize your job and then potentially put themselves in harm's way for a lawsuit? Please don't follow through on this idea. It doesn't work on so many different levels.

As far as your recruiter needing to know your current employer so that he or she doesn't send your résumé to them, that can't happen if you are working with a reputable recruiter who doesn't send out your résumé ANYWHERE without your express prior consent. Again, why would your recruiter send your résumé to your current employer, jeopardize your job and potentially put themselves in harm's way for a lawsuit?

References: You need not give references from your current employer until you have accepted an offer of employment and then given notice. If an offer is contingent on references, feel free to offer references from a previous employer, even if it is a boutique! Remember, if anyone calls your current employer while you are still working there and before you have given notice, your job could very well be in jeopardy.

I hope this answers your questions. If you are so uncertain about the people you are dealing with that you don't want to disclose your current employer to them, then perhaps you should find different people to represent you.

Good luck!

Sincerely,
Ann Israel
President, Ann Israel & Associates