THE LAWYERS WEEKLY
November 5, 2010 | 25
BUSINESS
CAREERS
Departing
Continued From Page 22
lawyer should “discuss and agree” on the
notification plan and contents, but if
there is no such agreement, “the
departing lawyer or paralegal should
advise the clients in a neutral manner
that he or she is leaving and of the
client’s options for continued represen-
tation.” Above all, the client must not be
“abandoned.”
The LSUC’s guidelines received judi-
cial imprimatur earlier this year in Lor-
eto v. Little, [2010] O.J. No. 679. The
plaintiff, the founder of a small law firm,
sued four of his former associates for,
among other things, allegedly stealing
more than 200 clients when they left the
firm. The judge found that the four exit-
ing lawyers had appropriately provided
their clients with the three choices.
Indeed, he ruled that, “The departing
lawyer not only has the right but the
obligation to contact the client and tell
her that he has left the firm.”
Furthermore, the judge found that a
leaving lawyer is entitled to take with
him a list of personal clients so that he
can contact them and offer those three
choices. In this case, the plaintiff
“wrongly took the position that the
firm’s clients were his personal clients
and his property.” The judge, whose
ruling is under appeal, also found that
the defendants’ behaviour did not
breach either confidentiality or any
fiduciary duty.
According to Matthew Sammon of
Lenczner Slaght Royce Smith Griffin
LLP in Toronto, “The ruling affirms that
both the firm and the departing lawyer
have an obligation to the client.” He adds
Loreto also says that obligation needs to
be handled “rationally.”
Says Sammon: “Smaller firms can be
like families, and a break-up can be bit-
ter. People can be heavily integrated into
the firm culture and their departure
viewed as a betrayal. Both parties need
to keep their emotions in check and not
act with any resentment.
The overriding
consideration
for everyone is
that all of us in
the legal
profession swim
in a small pond
and a scorched
earth policy
doesn’t serve
either side well.
VLADIMIR VORONIN / DREAMSTIME.COM
Clients must be advised of a
departing lawyer in a timely
manner in writing, not over
the phone, advises the Law
Society of Upper Canada.
3 steps to leaving gracefully
So, besides keeping emotions in check, what’s a lawyer to do when he/she wants to move on and maintain
that all-important goodwill? Human resource experts and lawyers in the field agree on three key steps.
“Like most things in life, a departure needs to be properly
planned,” says Melanie Hazell, president of Hazell and Associates
Career Partners in Toronto. Adds Cascadden: “Make a firm deci-
sion and stick to it.”
The departing employee, whether an associate or partner,
should first review his/her employment contract, if any, and legal
obligations. Then he/she should consider when he/she wants to
leave, how it should be announced and the length and nature of
the transition period.
There is nothing likelier to cause bad feelings than news of an
impending departure transmitted through the grapevine rather
than directly. Tell your boss in person, not by email. And follow up
with a letter, again not email. Says Hazell: “The etiquette of leav-
ing should be the same as that of joining.”
But more than courtesy is involved. “Telling the boss first allows
the company to manage the departure, massage the message,”
says Cascadden.
“Two weeks may be legal, but not reasonable,” says Toronto
employment lawyer Christine Thomlinson of Rubin Thomlinson LLP.
“Err on the side of generosity. It can pay off in future referrals.”
The notice period is an opportunity to show good faith, manage
some files to conclusion or ensure their orderly transition.
“Proactively working out a plan to handle one’s responsibilities
speaks to the departing person’s professionalism,” says Hazell.
“People will remember.”
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