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 for a new position. While I may be jumping ahead of myself, I am concerned about informing my current firm that I will be leaving.

I have a huge amount of responsibility and know that the firm will be in a rough spot. However, it is best for my career to move on.

What is the best way to approach the inevitable conversation with the partner in charge?

Jumping Ahead

Dear Jumping Ahead: While you have not told us anything about yourself, in this particular situation it really doesn't make much of a difference. I am going to have to assume that you are not at a partner-level, basing my assumption on the way you phrased your question and, basically, by the question itself.

The best way to approach giving notice to the appropriate partner-in-charge is to first wait until you have received and accepted an offer from your new employer and a start date has been established. Depending on whom you are going to choose to be your reference(s), you might also want to wait until references are checked and all conflicts are cleared. Then, and only then, can you go ahead and give notice.

The most important factor in giving notice is to make certain you do not burn any bridges. You never know when that partner you'd like to tell where to get off ends up at your new firm or if s/he just happens to be the cousin of the managing partner of your employer-to-be. So, think it through before acting on saying anything you might regret.

Personally, I think the best thing to do is thank the partner for giving you the opportunity to work at the firm and learn all you have up to this point. After all, you wouldn't be the attorney you are today without the training provided by this firm, and let them know that this is a very difficult moment for you -- however, the proverbial offer that you cannot refuse has been presented to you and, after much soul-searching, you are giving notice that you will be leaving the firm in two weeks, etc.

Now, here comes some reality from me -- I know you are concerned about leaving your firm in the lurch, and I certainly admire you for your loyalty and sense of responsibility. You certainly are right in being concerned for your own career, and presumably, that is why you are about to mount a job search. However, please do not think that the firm is not going to recover when you give notice.

I understand that they have piled you on with a good deal of responsibility, but I suspect they will somehow muddle through after you leave. You are not going to leave them in a "rough spot," so kindly remember this fact if they start to pour on a guilt trip and ask you to reconsider. They will miraculously recover. Go back a couple of Lawlorn columns ago and read about accepting a counteroffer. Don't even consider it!

We would all love to consider ourselves indispensable to our employers, but that just isn't the real world. Companies, corporations and law firms are all set up to recover from the loss of employees. Just remember, you are thinking about your future, your career. Give notice as a professional and then move on to your new employer where, I am certain, you will start receiving just as much responsibility as you currently have -- if not more!

Best wishes!

Sincerely,
Ann Israel
President, Ann Israel & Associates