3 Subtle Signs You Should Start Looking for a New Law Firm to Work for

A rewarding job is essential to your well-being. Sometimes, your work may have its ups and downs, but you need to be able to recognize the subtle signs that indicate you should be looking for a job at a new law firm.

Before you know if you are ready for a change, you need to highlight what will motivate you in your next job. Whether this is money, achievements in your field of law, or any other variables, understand why it is important for you to move to a new law firm.

1.      Toxic Culture

There are various reasons why you may feel that the work culture at your present firm is toxic. These could include an incredible workload in a department with few resources, or you could have an overload of work but are never made to feel like you are part of the team.

A lack of positive culture may leave you feeling like a fee earner instead of an associate. If you are starting to feel, even slightly, that there is a lack of rewards for your efforts or that the culture is turning toxic, then you should probably start looking for a job elsewhere.

Sometimes you may feel your position is vulnerable because of a poorer than usual performance review. If you know the assessment was unfair, it can easily kill your confidence, leaving you with a feeling of a poor culture and that you need to move on.

You Feel You Aren’t Making an Impact

The challenges of becoming a lawyer include feeling like you constantly need to learn new things, leading to career advancement. If you feel that you are stagnating in your current position and not getting any career satisfaction, you are probably ready to look elsewhere.

Your firm won’t notice if you aren’t being challenged because they are happy with your effectiveness in the area of practice assigned to you. However, if you feel you aren’t getting anything in return, you need to move to a position that will offer you more work excitement.

Many law firms don’t recognize the value of having lawyers with a specialty. If you have a niche but constantly be given mundane tasks, perhaps it’s time for you to look for work in a law firm that will appreciate your specialty.

Sometimes, a lack of work can leave you feeling like you cannot impact what you want. This could be because of a bad economic climate or because an important partner has left, impacting clients’ supply. If you notice you are scrambling to find work to make up your billable hour, perhaps it’s time to start looking around.

Your Needs Aren’t Met

Becoming a lawyer doesn’t mean that you must work long hours constantly. On the contrary, many lawyers want to work remotely or have more flexible hours, but some law firms are less willing to accept these ideas.

More and more law firms are now digitally advanced, and COVID-19 certainly pushed more of them to embrace the idea of logging in from home and flexible work hours. So if you are feeling somewhat like a slave to your job, perhaps this is a subtle sign that you need to look for work at a new law firm.

Another sign that your needs aren’t being met is if you feel that you are working far too hard and not getting paid well enough. Of course, you could ask for more money from your current law firm, but you may feel that they don’t appreciate you enough. Perhaps the time has come to look for a better-paying position.

Conclusion

These are some of the subtle signs that your current firm is not the right fit for you. There is nothing wrong with you wanting to move on if you feel you deserve a better position. However, you should work where you fit in professionally, allowing you to pursue your goals.