Insights · For lawyers How to resign from a law firm: the order, the letter, the meeting

Resign in the right order and it takes ten minutes. Get the order wrong and you can lose a job offer, a reference or a client's trust.

This article is general information, not legal advice. We checked it on 22 October 2026. For notice periods and counter-offers it points to our separate guides.

What should you do before you resign?#

Get a signed offer, read your contract, and settle three questions before you walk into the room. Who will you tell? What will you say if you are offered more? What leaves with you?

1. Hold a signed contract and a start date. Wait until any checks at the new firm are finished. A verbal offer can fall through, and you cannot easily undo a resignation.
2. Get probation terms in writing. Ask for probation length, review dates and your supervisor's name. Our guide to moving jobs when unfair dismissal protection starts after six months lists the questions.
3. Read your own contract. Find the notice clause, any garden leave or payment in lieu clause, and any restrictive covenants. Our guide to how long a solicitor's notice period is explains each.
4. Decide what, if anything, would change your mind. Write it down. Read should you accept a counter-offer first.
5. Ask the new firm not to take references yet. A request before you resign tells your partner before you do.
6. Draft your handover list. List every live matter, the next step and the diary dates.

You do not need to resign to find out what is out there. A confidential call sends nothing anywhere.

How much notice do you have to give?#

Whatever your contract says, and never less than one week once you have been in the job for more than a month. The law sets a floor. Your contract sets the number.

• 1 week1 week

  the least notice an employee who has been in the job a month or more must give (the contract may require more).

  Employment Rights Act 1996, section 86

• 3 months3 months

  the notice a 2022 tribunal found in one solicitor's contract, which it said would also have been a reasonable implied period (one tribunal, one contract, not a survey).

  Legal Futures, 2022

GOV.UK says your notice usually runs from the start of the day after you hand it in. Your contract tells you whether it must be written. Giving too little may put you in breach, and GOV.UK adds that your employer could take you to court.

Your employer can agree to release you early, put you on garden leave or pay you instead of notice. It does not have to. Acas says leaving without agreement and without working the right notice might affect your final pay or references. Our notice period guide covers all three.

What do the SRA rules say about client files and confidentiality?#

Client information stays confidential after you leave, and client files are not yours to take. Paragraph 6.3 of the SRA Code of Conduct says you keep the affairs of current and former clients confidential unless the law requires or permits disclosure, or the client consents.

The SRA's confidentiality guidance, updated on 30 June 2022, says the duty continues after the retainer ends. It applies whatever the source of the information. It also covers misusing information for any purpose other than the client's benefit.

Paragraph 6.5 covers a related risk: acting against a former client where you or your employer holds material confidential information. Your new firm will run conflict checks for this reason.

We found no SRA guidance written for one solicitor moving between firms. The confidentiality guidance covers firm mergers and acquisitions, and points to the SRA Ethics Guidance Helpline for specific questions.

The regulator does act. Legal Futures reported in August 2025 that the SRA rebuked two solicitors who removed client documents when they left firms, without the clients' knowledge or permission. In 2017 it reported a London solicitor rebuked and fined £2,000 for taking 11.7GB of client data to a new firm.

Should you resign by letter or in conversation?#

Both, in that order. Have the conversation first, then send a short letter the same day.

Acas says a resignation does not have to be written, but a written record can prevent disputes, for example over notice. Your employer may have a resignation process, so check. Address the letter to your manager or HR unless told otherwise.

Acas says a letter should state that you are resigning, how much notice you are giving, and your intended last day. We would keep reasons out. Acas does say to explain your reasons if you are leaving without working notice because of a serious breach of contract by your employer. That is a different case, for the Acas helpline or a solicitor.

To prove receipt, Acas suggests asking for written confirmation, or using recorded delivery. Keep a copy.

Here is sample wording. It is an example, not legal advice.

Dear [name], I am resigning from my position as [job title] at [firm]. My contract requires [x weeks or months] notice, so my last working day will be [date]. I would like to agree a handover plan with you this week. Thank you for the time and training I have had here. Yours sincerely, [name]

What do you say to your supervising partner?#

Say you are resigning, give your notice, offer a handover and stop talking. Ten minutes is plenty. Ask for a quiet slot, not a corridor.

Expect surprise, then questions. If you are offered more to stay, do not decide in the room. Say thank you, say you will reply by the next morning, and ask for any offer in writing. Acas tells employers that a conversation after a resignation might help them find problems they can resolve. It is why you decided your answer beforehand.

If supervision was part of your reason for leaving, read how to check supervision before your first law job before you accept the next role.

What happens after you say it?#

Expect one of three things: an offer to stay, a request to leave quickly or stay away, or a plain acknowledgement. Acas says your employer cannot reject your resignation.

Counter-offers are common. In a December 2021 survey of 2,000 UK employees by Opinium for the recruiter Robert Half, 57% said they had received one at some point in their career. It covers all jobs, not law, and Robert Half sells recruitment.

The employer's side looks similar. In the CIPD's April 2024 survey of 1,016 UK HR and people professionals, 27% of organisations that had tried to recruit reported challenges with counteroffers or dropouts after offer acceptance. That covers all sectors. Read should you accept a counter-offer before the meeting, not after.

If you change your mind, tell your employer straight away. Acas says it does not have to accept a withdrawal. Never resign as a bargaining move. The resignation can stand.

How do you hand over files and talk to clients?#

Hand over matter by matter, in writing, and remember that the client decides who acts for them. For each matter, record:

• The client, matter reference and stage reached.
• The next step and who takes it.
• Every diary date, such as exchange, completion or a court deadline.
• Every open undertaking you have given. Paragraph 1.3 of the SRA Code says you perform undertakings within the agreed time, or a reasonable time if none was agreed.
• Any money held and any bills pending.

A conveyancer should list every exchange and completion date in the diary. See what a conveyancer does for the pressures in that role.

Agree the client message with your partner before anyone sends it. Acas says to agree with your employer how and when colleagues are told, and the same sense applies to clients. Check your restrictive covenants first. GOV.UK says a contract may bar you from contacting customers for a period after you leave.

The SRA's guidance on closing down a practice says it is for the client to decide which firm takes over their matter. It adds that many papers on a file belong to the client. That guidance is about closing a firm, not one person moving. We found nothing narrower.

One reported case shows why handover gets read closely. A firm dismissed a family solicitor after he resigned in 2021, saying he had not passed on client complaints and had missed legal aid applications. The tribunal held the firm could withhold his outstanding notice pay. That is one tribunal on its own facts.

What does a resignation look like day by day?#

A week of preparation, one short meeting, then your notice. This path is illustrative. Your notice period and dates will differ.

How do you keep your reference and the relationship?#

Leave well and in writing. Law is a small world, and references come from the people you are leaving.

Acas says a reference an employer gives must be accurate and fair, and that opinions need evidence behind them. A reference follows the record you leave. That is another reason to finish files and write good notes.

Check the money too. Acas says it is good practice for an employer to confirm your last day and final pay in writing. GOV.UK says that during notice you may be able to take what is left of your statutory leave, and that an employer must pay for statutory leave you have not taken. Ask about both in one message.

A note of thanks to your partner costs nothing. Offer to answer questions about your files.

Still working out what to ask for? Read should you tell a recruiter your current salary, check the salary guide and see the live roles. If you work in conveyancing, the handover list matters most of all.

A named person looks after you. A confidential call costs lawyers nothing, and no CV goes to a firm without your say so.

Sources

• GOV.UK: Handing in your notice, giving notice
• Employment Rights Act 1996, section 86 (minimum notice), legislation.gov.uk
• Acas: How to resign (updated 30 June 2026)
• Acas: Responding to an employee's resignation (updated 30 June 2026)
• GOV.UK: Handing in your notice, garden leave
• GOV.UK: Handing in your notice, restrictive covenants
• GOV.UK: Taking holiday before leaving a job
• Acas: What employers can say in a reference (updated 1 October 2026)
• SRA: Code of Conduct for Solicitors, RELs and RFLs (in effect from 11 April 2025)
• SRA: Confidentiality of client information (updated 30 June 2022)
• SRA: Closing down your practice (updated 22 February 2022)
• Legal Futures: Two solicitors rebuked for taking client information when leaving firms (13 August 2025)
• Legal Futures: Solicitor who took client data to new firm without consent rebuked and fined (26 June 2017)
• Legal Futures: Law firm entitled to dismiss solicitor for not passing on complaints (8 September 2022)
• Robert Half: Half of counteroffers successful as hiring crisis continues (survey of 2,000 UK employees by Opinium, December 2021)
• CIPD: Resourcing and talent planning report 2024 (survey of 1,016 UK HR and people professionals, April 2024)

This is general information, not legal advice. Where a figure comes from another organisation, the source is above, and we say when it is dated.