Hireback opt out

[Dyingforever]

I’d like to opt out of my hireback.  I am 99.9% sure they are going to hire me back. However, I do not want to work here. I am depressed here. I’ve gone to the ER several times because of this place. My physical and mental health declined. I want to let them know that I don’t want to come back (even pushing to the end is tough right now).
 

How do I tell them? Will I burn bridges? When should I tell them? Can I leave earlier since LSO lets you do 8 months of articling? Should I tell them after my call during the break? Should I find another job now? 

Edited March 12 by Dyingforever

[chaboywb]

5 minutes ago, Dyingforever said:

I’d like to opt out of my big law Hireback. A month ago, they told us to state our preferences and I am 99.9% sure they are going to hire me back. However, I do not want to work here. I am depressed here. I’ve gone to the ER several times because of this place. My physical and mental health declined. I want to let them know that I don’t want to come back (even pushing to June is tough right now).
 

How do I tell them? Will I burn bridges? When should I tell them? Can I leave earlier since LSO lets you do 8 months of articling? Should I tell them after my call during the break? Should I find another job now? 

Opting out of hireback will almost certainly burn your bridge with this firm, but why do you care? If you don't want a job there now, I'm sure you'll never want to go back.

I think your best bet is to tell your student director that you are not interested in being hired back. They will relay that message to the lawyers and you'll likely be left alone for the most part while they focus on the students who will be sticking around as associates. I don't want to downplay your situation, because it sounds very rough, but why not try to just get by the next few months without the pressure of hireback/impressing people and while looking for other jobs? 

[Dyingforever]

9 minutes ago, chaboywb said:

Opting out of hireback will almost certainly burn your bridge with this firm, but why do you care? If you don't want a job there now, I'm sure you'll never want to go back.

I think your best bet is to tell your student director that you are not interested in being hired back. They will relay that message to the lawyers and you'll likely be left alone for the most part while they focus on the students who will be sticking around as associates. I don't want to downplay your situation, because it sounds very rough, but why not try to just get by the next few months without the pressure of hireback/impressing people and while looking for other jobs? 

I am concerned they might flood me with loads of crappy work because I said no. Even when I was in the ER, I was given files and told to go to court.

[notsocoolcucumber]

Assuming you don't want to burn bridges with the firm (which you should feel free to do, I think), I might suggest being super honest and simply saying that you need a mental health related break from big law. I know all firms are different, but from my experience (which is only at one big firm), the lawyers and student manager were extremely sensitive to and aware of the mental toll that articling/ first couple associate years were imposing on their students/ lawyers. I think it is possible to tell them that you would like to focus on your health at the moment, and although you don't want to close the door to perhaps come back in the future and you value the opportunities they have provided you to date, you would prefer to be left out of hire back and instead, look into opportunities that are better for you in the near future.

(You may very well burn the bridges, depending on the firm. But if so, I think it would just further confirm that it is not the firm for you).

Edited March 12 by notsocoolcucumber

[notsocoolcucumber]

I just wanted to add that I should have said *some lawyers and the student manager. There are evil people everywhere and it sounds like a lot of evil people exist where you are working. I'm sorry you have had to put up with that. Hang in there (and I hope you get out without a hitch!)

[Dinsdale]

If you have decided that you can't work at this firm after articles (and it certainly sounds like you have) then don't wait.  Opt-out now. The more time you give the firm to make other arrangements for their incoming first year associate class, the better.  As suggested above, have a chat with the student director or, if you are at a small firm where there is no such person, then your articling principal. 

If the job is truly imperiling your health, consider also taking a medical leave.  Speak to HR about this.

58 minutes ago, Dyingforever said:

I am concerned they might flood me with loads of crappy work because I said no. Even when I was in the ER, I was given files and told to go to court.

To which you say "no thank you" once you have reached your capacity.  If you have opted out you do not have to impress anyone.  You can't be negligent or in breach of professional responsibility, but that is not the same as taking on every task presented to you.

[Conge]

17 hours ago, Dyingforever said:

I am concerned they might flood me with loads of crappy work because I said no. Even when I was in the ER, I was given files and told to go to court.

Just don't do the work. Tell them you don't have capacity to take on the new matters. If they push it, tell them you are sorry, but it wouldn't be the responsible choice to accept the assignments when you know you don't have the time that they require to be done properly. I mean, really, you should be able to tell them that even if things are going well for you, which they are not.

These ppl sound toxic. Arrange an orderly exit. 

[Dyingforever]

On 3/13/2024 at 9:54 AM, Conge said:

Just don't do the work. Tell them you don't have capacity to take on the new matters. If they push it, tell them you are sorry, but it wouldn't be the responsible choice to accept the assignments when you know you don't have the time that they require to be done properly. I mean, really, you should be able to tell them that even if things are going well for you, which they are not.

These ppl sound toxic. Arrange an orderly exit. 

Wouldn’t this ruin my reputation and burn a bridge with them? 

[chaboywb]

22 minutes ago, Dyingforever said:

Wouldn’t this ruin my reputation and burn a bridge with them? 

Reputation outside your firm? Almost certainly not unless you are being negligent, which would be more like taking on important work and just not doing it. They might be annoyed with you for a minute or two but then they'll pass the work to another articling student and forget about it.

Reputation within your firm? Well, you are choosing to leave this firm. You are burning the bridge. That is probably unavoidable. Unless there is some highly compelling reason for having opted out (ie. a clerkship, temporary medical issue, etc.), I'm sure an extremely low number of lawyers ever return as an associate to the firm that they opted out of hireback from.

[acatinthesun]

Sometimes burning bridges is necessary and healthy - bridges supported by toxicity and pain usually shouldn't stand. 

[Diplock]

My brief reply, other than to agree with what everyone has said already, is to suggest you likely aren't in the right frame of mind to receive reasonable advice at all. Saying you are miserable where you are but don't want to burn bridges there is evidence of that. People can keep giving you reasonable advice based on the assumption you are able to receive and act on that advice, but if you are not everyone is starting from the wrong point entirely.

Get proper professional help with your mental health. Until you do, nothing else will make much sense to you, or you'll reject the ways in which it does make sense. You can't simple say "I'll fix the problems in my life until my mental health improves." Once you've reached a certain point of crisis that doesn't work anymore. You need to address your mental health problems first, in order to be able to fix the problems in your life properly.

But also, yes. Whatever else is happening, get the hell out of there and stop finding reason s why you can't.

[ZineZ]

5 minutes ago, Diplock said:

 Once you've reached a certain point of crisis that doesn't work anymore. You need to address your mental health problems first, in order to be able to fix the problems in your life properly.

Chiming in to agree. But there's another part of this that OP needs to keep in mind.

OP you will NOT be able to properly address your mental health if don't address your broken and toxic relationship with your workplace. I understand your concerns around burning bridges etc as a junior, but there's a point where you need to consider the benefits of keeping reputation (which may be of limited value - as discussed by other folks above above) with what this is doing to you. 

This is a lesson that many, many students and juniors learn over time - you need to put up barriers and protect yourself. Working full-out when your mental health isn't in a good place not only causes damage to yourself, but it'll also inherently impact the quality of any work you do. 

 

[WUDALA]

You got this.

Edited April 8 by WUDALA