Change, Departure, Move

Top 5 Reasons Lawyers Are Quitting in The Great Resignation

  • On October 17, 2021
The Great Resignation is going on, and I’ve got a bird’s eye view. The top reasons I see Bay Area lawyers quitting are: Better opportunities. I’ve been recruiting in-house lawyers 15 years, and I have never seen it so hot. Lawyers are constantly presented with interesting work that could give them a better career trajectory. (See here for why […]
Read More
Change, Departure

How to Leave on Good Terms

  • On May 23, 2021
It’s peak hiring season now! My candidates are getting offers and saying good-bye to current employers. Three things departing employees should do to leave on good terms: Give two weeks’ notice. Yes, two weeks is an arbitrary number, but it is convention. Be flexible about staying a little longer if your employer asks you to. […]
Read More
Departure

Do I Have to Give 2 Weeks’ Notice?

  • On February 14, 2020
No one knows where the two weeks’ notice rule came from. It’s certainly not state or federal law. In an interview with KQED, the Dean of Cornell School of Industrial Relations and Labor Alexander Colvin guesses it came from big companies formalizing corporate policies in the 40s and 50s. At that time, companies gave employees […]
Read More
Compensation, Departure

Genius Way to Ask for a Raise

  • On February 10, 2019
I love this clip from Barbara Corcoran on how to successfully ask for a raise. It’s short, but I will save you from watching it (though I recommend it) by summarizing its top take-aways here: Think like a man. Women generally do not ask for raises, but men do it all the time. If women […]
Read More
Departure

Quit Your Job Gracefully with These 5 Moves!

  • On November 4, 2018
The US job market is on fire! Lawyers are being hired – and correspondingly – are leaving their employers in droves. Because the legal community is really small, here are 5 ways to quit gracefully: Tell your boss first. Make an appointment, and tell him/her, ideally in-person, before you tell others. Prepare to answer why […]
Read More
Career Management, Change, Departure

WSJ Reports Everyone is Job Hopping. Should I?

  • On July 8, 2018
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that “in this economy, quitters are winning!” The market is so strong that “workers are choosing to leave their jobs at the fastest rate since the internet boom 17 years ago and getting rewarded for it with bigger paychecks and/or more satisfying work.” Should you too? A few factors to […]
Read More
Departure

Recognizing Burnout & What To Do if It Hits! Sept. 24, 2017

  • On September 22, 2017
The legal profession is truly one of the most stressful jobs out there. I read this recent New York Times article covering burnout, and out of a long list of common stressors leading to burnout, lawyers are subject to them all (except physical labor): unrealistic deadlines, frequent conflicts/interruptions, unpredictable schedules, added responsibility without extra compensation, […]
Read More