Even thinking about leaving my firm makes me feel disloyal, like I’m betraying people who trained me or invested time in me. Rationally, I know firms move on quickly when it suits them, but emotionally, departure feels taboo. There’s an unspoken rule that staying equals loyalty and leaving equals failure. I don’t know when that mindset took hold, but it’s powerful. Why does this profession treat leaving like a personal betrayal instead of a normal career move?

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Stockholm syndrome is real, amigo. Good luck

likehelpful

You sell hours in exchange for money. That’s the entire relationship.

If things slowed down they wouldn’t hesitate to let you go.

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Your firm would fire you immediately if it improved their bottom line. It’s just business. Don’t make it and take it personally.

likefunny

People always say this, but I don’t think it’s usually true. Of course they’ll eventually fire you if you’re not profitable enough, but it seems to me that quite a few firms agonize to some extent over this and that they rarely do it “immediately.”

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Emotions aside, think rationally. Are you green on the spreadsheet? That’s what matters unless you’re close to the inner circle. Your bosses, partly from whom the loyalty stems, are in the same boat. Good till profitable and not inhibiting strategic advances.
These are corporate structures; we don’t matter. Your loyalty to yourself, your values, your advancement - that matters more. Don’t confuse comfort with loyalty. That said, be grateful and graceful and honor the good. Just don’t be subservient to illusions.

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If the people who invested in you and trained you really have your best interest at heart, they'll be glad to see you make the move that's best for you

likeupliftingsmart

Can’t agree more

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Firms do what's best for them as far as business goes. Hiring, training you and investing in you was the right business move for them at the time. These are the costs of doing business. You, just the same, need to do what's best for you and look out for #1. If that means leaving, then so be it. I've seen many associates just like you go out the door to better themselves. I've seen just as many escorted out. Turn off your mind and do what is best for you and forget the rest. Your loyalty here is to YOU.

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lol. You are replaceable and a number. They have no loyalty to you.

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There is no loyalty these days. These people who trained you would be (i) the first ones to throw you under rhetorical bus; and (ii) fire you without hesitation. Move on.

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Not to mention, they only trained you to work on their deals and make them money, especially since you said you don't have your own book

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Some lawyers really see it as just business, for better or worse, and those may be the ones you don't actually want to work with bc they are autistic robots.

Some will take it personally, and may be a delight to work with bc they bring their whole selves and have an actual personality in the workplace. So a departure feels like a breakup bc it kinda is (the employment with the firm may be their longest relationship outside of family).

The best approach is probably somewhere in the middle 🤷 It hurts (to leave, to see someone leave) because it (people, relationships) matters. But at the end of the day it's just a job to pay bills, it's not like any of us is saving the world working at X firm vs Y firm. The people who want you to be happy and successful as you're walking out the door are the people you should keep close by.

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@Attorney 6…Thank you so much for your supportive and thoughtful comment! It means so much!

Grow up.

likefunny

To build on what AGC1 counsel said, does loyalty pay your rent? Does loyalty pay for your counseling? I’ll let you in on a secret, you are a profit center for the partners. Nothing more; nothing less.

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Lateral moves feel like a big deal until you do them. Then you leave, and a few months later you've already started to forget and call that a past life.

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job 1: a couple years, still have a couple of close peers; job 2: almost a decade, still have a few peers and mentors I keep up with; job 3: in progress

Based on the comments, it looks like you're a trusts and estates lawyer with no book of business. The partners trained you and "invested" in you so you can work on their deals and make them money. That's why they groom you lol not because they have any loyalty to you. You also cannot easily make the jump in-house, you said your salary is capped, so of course they want you to stay as an underpaid cog to make them money. They don't care about you. Law firm is a bunch of lawyers there to make money. It isn't a family. It isn't a club. It's a for profit company run by a bunch of A personalities wanting to make money. Don't delude yourself.

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Also if you're thinking of leaving you should at least talk to a partner you trust to work through whether that is actually the best decision for you. You deserve to be somewhere you are All In (whatever that looks like for you). I had a mentor who helped convince me to look elsewhere bc he knew I would almost never make partner if I stayed and he knew I could land somewhere that valued me better. I felt the way you did (disloyal, betrayal, failure for not sticking it out) but when I said goodbye most partners understood and wished me well.

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A9 - sounds like you are effectively a counsel with no partner prospects at your current firm. There are firms that promote and compensate "working partners" without necessarily having a book but it means being a service partner. Happy to talk more specifically in DMs, but basically your lack of BD shouldn't exclude you from a partnership, it just takes a bit of work to find a firm that would work for you and a partner comp model that values what you can do. Look up Minders, Binders, Finders, Grinders

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I think unless you’ve had conversations about advancement and committed to stay for a particular team/partner, don’t worry about it

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It’s a job

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Once you find a better job you’ll get over it. Same happened to me. I’m much happier and any guilt is gone. They trained me for their benefit and I trained people that came after me. Circle of life. Good luck!

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Why are you thinking about leaving?

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Historically, it was much worse in this regard. This usually only is part of the culture now in smaller shops.

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I love these companies that say: "...we're family..." What family do you know that kicks a child out of the house when a parent doesn't make enough money? I used to have that same feeling of loyalty. Companies look for that in people, but people don't look for that in companies.

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Moving on is part of growing.

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