Summary: If any of these 15 reasons fit your criteria, then the time has come for you to find a new position and move law firms.

Knowing when it is time to leave your law firm and find a new position can be tricky. Harrison Barnes explains in “15 Reasons You Should Leave Your Law Firm and Look for a New Job” how to know when that time has come. Making the decision to leave your firm should not be taken lightly and is only advisable when it is absolutely necessary.

  

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The possibilities and positive factors that can come with making a job change are numerous. If you are able to move up to a more prestigious firm, position, etc., then your career will be open to more doors. However moving to a smaller firm or in-house can have severe consequences on your legal career. Weigh the options carefully to decide if the change is worth it.

15 Reasons:

1. Move to a more prestigious law firm.
2. Being under compensated.
3. Move closer to a significant other.
4. Move closer to family or to go home.
5. Opportunity for more sophisticated work.
6. Receive better training.
7. Your physical health is failing under the current conditions.
8. Your mental health is about ready to crack.
9. The amount of work is dwindling at your current job.
10. You are only a staff attorney.
11. Move to a practice area matching your skills and interests.
12. Better opportunities for advancement in another firm.
13. Your current firm’s culture is wrong for you.
14. You have made serious mistakes that are preventing you from success at your current firm.
15. You have no mentor and/or the attorneys that hired you have moved on or are in trouble themselves.

These reasons vary in providing a direction that the attorney should take. Some make it clear that the reason justifies moving up to a bigger better firm while others, like health concerns, may require taking a step back to a more relaxed atmosphere.

It is important that you exhaust every other option to make your current situation work before making the leap to a new firm. Putting in more billable hours may solve some problems, but quite often, when it is time to go it is time to go.

To learn more about when to stick your job out, read these articles:

• Looking for a New Job Is Not Always a Good Choice for Attorneys
• Harrison Barnes Takes on the Tough Question of “What’s the Point?”
• Harrison Barnes Explains Why Attorneys Need to Keep Working

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