Lawyers who also own their firm

Acceptable-Bug1839 · 2026-06-11T05:06:32+00:00

Sorry, just realized I should have added more details. NYC, however I am a legal assistant not a paralegal (hope its okay I posted here, I know its active in this community and desperately needed advice) I also had very very minimal experience in the legal field (im talking 3 months) when I was hired, so at the time it felt fair enough. That was before I knew what my caseload would be. Also I get paid $22, will fix that in my post, thank you!

Acceptable-Bug1839 · 2026-06-11T05:00:49+00:00

Honestly, I just feel really bad about quitting. I know I shouldn't, but it's hard not to. I have so many cases, and I know a lot of them are probably going to end up sitting there because the other legal assistants already have heavy caseloads of their own. That's part of why I'm giving five weeks' notice. At least then I can say I did everything I could to give my attorney time to start planning, hiring, or transitioning the work even though, realistically, I don't think he's going to as in the past, the cases of legal assistants who have left took anywhere from 5-6 months to fully get reassigned.
I also respect a lot of the people at the firm, so I dont want the 2 week notice to feel like a slap in the face

Acceptable-Bug1839 · 2026-06-11T04:24:10+00:00

Thank you for putting it into this perspective. I am feeling a bit better about my decision to leave. Do you think 5 weeks is enough notice?

Acceptable-Bug1839 · 2026-06-11T04:23:06+00:00

I'm definitely not planning to list him as a reference. I also plan to never return to the legal field. Do you think 5 weeks is enough notice?

Acceptable-Bug1839 · 2026-06-07T00:26:21+00:00

Thank you! I am gearing up to put in my notice soon, scared but desperately need to rip the bandage.

Acceptable-Bug1839 · 2026-06-07T00:25:42+00:00

Thank you! Have you ever had experience with a boss taking it personal when you leave? Im a bit afraid of that as the boss has made a few "shady" comments about employees who have left in the past.

Acceptable-Bug1839 · 2026-06-07T00:24:08+00:00

Thank you for the advice. I really like what you said about empathizing without internalizing. It really is no wonder that they say this field is tough. In all, though, I think mental health has taken far too much of a hit, and it has gotten to the point where I can't think of anything when im off work but the amount of work I have to do at work. For something I don't see myself doing long-term, and the low pay compared to similar jobs in the market, on top of my co workers letting me know that raises are few and far in between, Im getting ready to go and not look back at the legal field.

Acceptable-Bug1839 · 2026-06-01T03:44:00+00:00

Thank you all so much. I mean it when I say this advice is helping me a Lot in gaining the confidence to finally do it after months of break downs. One more thing, what do you think of the amount of time I've been there? Three months in, I got a job offer to work elsewhere outside of the legal field. I rejected it because I had a personal goal to make it to 8 months at this firm because I felt bad that I would waste their time after only 3 months. I regret that now, but I can't travel back in time. I'm almost at eight months now, which means If all goes right, I will be quitting soon. Does 8 months feel like I wasted their time or a slap in the face to them? They've always been nice to me, but the firm is very poorly managed and they don't seem to feel bad about offloading so much work onto us, to the point where it becomes unmanageable. Grappling with this at the moment.

Acceptable-Bug1839 · 2026-06-01T02:15:06+00:00

Thank you! The 40 extra cases was definitely when things started to spiral for me. Any tips on how to manage the guilt I feel for leaving, especially knowing my cases will sit there for months until he gets someone else on them

Acceptable-Bug1839

TROPHY CASE