Jump to section
A lateral move between firms is one of the most consequential decisions you will make in your legal career, and also one of the least discussed in practical terms. Everyone knows lawyers move. Far fewer talk about what a clean, professional transition actually looks like from start to finish.
This post is a step-by-step guide for associates and senior associates in Canadian private practice who are seriously considering a move. It covers the timeline, the conversations you will need to have, what to protect, and how to leave in a way that keeps your reputation intact regardless of where you land next.
Before You Start Looking
The first question to answer honestly is whether you are moving toward something or away from something. Both are valid, but they lead to different decisions. Moving toward a specific practice area, a particular mentorship opportunity, or a city you need to be in is a clear mandate. Moving away from a difficult partner or a disappointing compensation review is understandable, but it will not fix the underlying issues if you take them into your next role.
Write down what you need the next position to offer that this one does not. Be concrete: not "better culture" but "a practice group of more than three lawyers where I can get supervision without being the only associate." That specificity will make your search faster and help you evaluate offers honestly.
If you have not read the post on career planning for your first five years, do that first. Lateral moves made without a career trajectory in mind often feel like progress in the moment and less so in retrospect.
Discretion While You Search
Lateral searches leak. Partners talk at bar events. Recruiters are not always careful. Articling students notice things. The working assumption should be that your current firm could learn you are looking at any point, and your behaviour should reflect that.
Do not use your work email, your firm laptop, or any device managed by your firm for any part of the search. Use a personal email address you check from your own device. Do not upload your resume to platforms where your current firm's lawyers might see it, and tell any recruiter at the outset that your search is confidential.
Be careful about who you confide in at your current firm, even people you trust. Legal communities in Canada are smaller than they appear.
Note. Telling a recruiter that your search is confidential is not the same as guaranteeing it. Be realistic: the more widely you circulate, the higher the chance of a leak. Run a focused search rather than a broad one.
What Firms Look for in a Lateral Candidate
A firm considering a lateral hire is asking three questions: Can this person do the work? Will they fit the team? Will they bring or develop client work? The weight of each depends on the level. For a three-year associate, the first two dominate. For a sixth or seventh year, the third becomes central.
Your resume and any writing samples need to show substantive file experience, not just the areas you have been in. Specific transactions, hearings, files handled with increasing responsibility, things you drafted from scratch rather than revised. Vague lists of "exposure to" various matters do not hold up at the interview stage.
The post on writing a legal resume that gets interviews has practical guidance on how to present lateral experience effectively. The same principles apply at the lateral level, though the bar for specificity is higher.
The Interview
Lateral interviews are more conversational than associate or articling interviews. Firms at this stage are trying to understand how you think, how you manage files, and how you relate to clients. Prepare to talk through specific matters in real detail, not just summarize them at a high level.
You will almost certainly be asked why you are leaving your current firm. Answer honestly without being negative. "I have learned a great deal here, but the practice group is small and I need broader exposure to go in the direction I am planning" is a complete, professional answer. Criticizing your current firm, its partners, or its management is always a mistake, even when the criticism is warranted.
Ask serious questions about the new firm: how associates are developed, what the path to partnership looks like in practice (not in theory), how origination credit is allocated for work you help develop, and what the first year in the role would realistically look like. Firms that cannot answer those questions specifically are telling you something.
A firm that cannot describe concretely how you would be supervised, supported, and evaluated is asking you to accept ambiguity they would not accept themselves.
Reference Checks and Conflicts
Most lateral offers are conditional on references and a conflict check. The conflict check is administrative and handled by the firm. References are more delicate.
At the lateral level, firms want to speak to people who have seen your work. That often means senior lawyers at your current firm, which is a problem if your search is confidential. It is entirely appropriate to tell a prospective employer that your current employer does not know you are searching, and to offer references from former supervisors, clients you have worked with independently, or senior lawyers outside your firm who know your work.
A firm that insists on calling your current supervising partner before an offer is extended is not being unreasonable, but you are entitled to know when that call is being made so you can have the conversation with your firm first.
How a lateral move usually unfolds
- Clarify the mandateWrite down exactly what you need the next role to offer. Identify firms that could plausibly provide it. Set up a personal email and a separate device for all search communications.
- Quiet conversationsContact two or three recruiters who specialize in legal placements in your city. Research target firms independently. Reach out to former colleagues now at those firms for informal intelligence.
- Interviews and diligenceMove through interview rounds. Ask detailed questions about supervision, compensation structure, and what the first year looks like. Conduct your own reference check on the firm.
- Offer and negotiationReview the offer carefully, including any non-solicitation or notice provisions. Get independent legal advice on restrictive covenants if the offer includes them.
- The notice conversationGive proper notice, follow your firm's file transfer protocols, and treat the transition period with the same professionalism you brought to the role.
Giving Notice
The notice conversation is the one most lateral movers dread most. It does not need to be dramatic. Give your notice in person to your supervising partner, not by email. Be straightforward: you have accepted a position elsewhere, your last day will be on this date, and you want to work together to ensure a clean transition for the files.
Your notice period is likely spelled out in your employment agreement. Read it before you give notice so you know exactly what is required. Two weeks is common for junior associates; four weeks or longer is more typical at the senior associate level.
During the notice period, do everything asked of you for the transition. Document your files thoroughly. Return calls and complete anything that can be completed. The way you leave is the last data point your current colleagues will have about you, and legal communities have long memories.
Note. Non-solicitation clauses in your employment agreement may restrict how and when you can contact current clients after leaving. Read those provisions with care and, if there is any ambiguity, get advice before you move.
Client Files and Transition
Clients have the right to choose their own counsel. If a client wishes to follow you to your new firm, that decision belongs to the client, not to you or your current firm. However, there are professional obligations around how that transition is managed, and your law society's rules govern the process.
Do not solicit clients during your notice period or before you have formally departed. Do not take files, documents, or client data without authorization. Once you have left, the appropriate path for any client who contacts you is to provide information about how to direct a transfer request through proper channels.
Managing client relationships carefully is central to a sustainable practice. The considerations around building a niche and developing your own client base over time are covered separately, and are worth reading alongside this post.
Starting Strong at the New Firm
The first 90 days at a new firm are when you establish how you are seen. Arrive prepared: learn the file management systems, understand the billing expectations, find out who the informal knowledge sources are, and ask more questions than you think you need to. Do not assume that practices you developed at your previous firm transfer automatically.
The legal careers section of this blog covers the full arc of a legal career, from the job search through to senior practice decisions. If you are weighing a lateral move against a different kind of transition entirely, the post on moving from private practice into policy or government may also be worth reading.
A clean lateral move is possible. It requires preparation, discretion, and a transition handled with genuine professionalism. Lawyers who do it well find that even their former firms respect how they left.
