Was requested for a new project that's commonly known to be a disaster by others. What's the etiquette for declining without committing career suicide...

"Appreciate the offer however am in closing stage discussions with another project that aligns extremely well with my current focus. Will definitely let you know if it doesn't pan out."

You need to clearly (and tactfully) articulate that the role doesn't align with your professional development goals and you don't want to look back and feel like your needs aren't being met and leave the firm, because it will look much worse to the client if you bounce after a month or two than if you weren't there at all.

You can't lie and you can't make up an excuse. Your best bet is to be honest and say you would like to explore other options within the next (time frame) before you commit to a project.

If you're federal I know the project you're talking about. But yea I second D2

If you don't have another project lined up, you're pretty much fucked

I second what Deloitte 2 says. I think it also matters how long you're been with the firm. If you're brand new, then you pretty much how no say. If you've been there a while, you may have a little more leverage. Also depends how long the engagement is. If it's relatively short, I know people who have gotten off projects because they conveniently scheduled PTO during the engagement so they were no longer wanted

You don't have much of a choice but try to find another project and talk to your mentors about the options

Lie your face off to your counselor about why the role doesn't align with your b school story or something, get them to bail you out and it shouldn't hurt at YE