How to tell clients you are leaving a law firm
You tell the active clients you work on that you are leaving. You tell them they choose who represents them.
The notice should go out jointly with your firm if it can. You present the choice neutrally. No running down the firm, no pushing clients to follow you.
Timing depends on your state. The table below has the short version. We checked these rules against bar and ABA sources as of October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.
Have you read your partnership or employment agreement? Do that, and read your state bar guidance, before you talk to anyone.
- ABA baseline
- Main source
- Formal Ops. 99-414 and 489
- Telling the firm
- At the same time as clients (489)
- Joint notice
- Preferred
- Key point
- Notice limited to current clients; the client decides
- Florida
- Main source
- Rule 4-5.8
- Telling the firm
- Must try to agree on a joint notice before any unilateral contact
- Joint notice
- Must be attempted first
- Key point
- Three options; no response means the client stays with the firm
- Georgia
- Main source
- Formal Advisory Op. 97-3
- Telling the firm
- No set procedure
- Joint notice
- Not required
- Key point
- May notify clients actively represented, orally or in writing
- Texas
- Main source
- Ethics Op. 699
- Telling the firm
- Two to four weeks is ordinarily defensible
- Joint notice
- Preferred
- Key point
- Must notify even if the firm objects
- California
- Main source
- Formal Op. 2020-201
- Telling the firm
- Before clients, absent prejudice
- Joint notice
- Preferred
- Key point
- Notice states options and where the file is
| Jurisdiction | Main source | Telling the firm | Joint notice | Key point |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABA baseline | Formal Ops. 99-414 and 489 | At the same time as clients (489) | Preferred | Notice limited to current clients; the client decides |
| Florida | Rule 4-5.8 | Must try to agree on a joint notice before any unilateral contact | Must be attempted first | Three options; no response means the client stays with the firm |
| Georgia | Formal Advisory Op. 97-3 | No set procedure | Not required | May notify clients actively represented, orally or in writing |
| Texas | Ethics Op. 699 | Two to four weeks is ordinarily defensible | Preferred | Must notify even if the firm objects |
| California | Formal Op. 2020-201 | Before clients, absent prejudice | Preferred | Notice states options and where the file is |
What does the ABA require when a lawyer leaves a firm?
ABA Formal Opinion 99-414 puts the duty on you if you are responsible for the matter or play a principal role on it. The notice says the client picks the lawyer. You can add that you're willing and able to keep handling the work. You can't disparage the firm.
A joint notice is preferred. If the firm won't cooperate, you send it yourself. I'd put it in writing.
ABA Formal Opinion 489 covers notice periods. Firms can set one, but only the minimum needed to protect clients and organize files. It can't be rigid or block client choice.
You don't have to wait to notify clients, as long as you notify the firm at the same time. The firm can't cut off your access or reassign your matters before you leave, absent client direction or an emergency.
What does Florida Bar Rule 4-5.8 require?
In Florida, go to the firm first. Under Florida Bar Rule 4-5.8 and the Florida Bar Notifying Clients packet, you can't contact firm clients on your own until you have asked an authorized firm representative to negotiate a joint communication and those bona fide negotiations have failed. A specific agreement that says otherwise changes this.
The notice goes to current clients you did significant legal work for, with direct client contact.
A unilateral notice lays out 3 choices: stay with the firm, go with you, or pick another lawyer. It also has to cover accrued fees and costs, how deposits are handled, and any charge for copying the file.
A client who never answers stays with the firm. The rule has no default deadline for the election.
What do Georgia's rules require when a lawyer leaves?
Georgia has no set procedure. The State Bar of Georgia FAQ on departing lawyers points you to Formal Advisory Opinion 97-3.
Under Formal Advisory Opinion 97-3, you can notify clients you actively represented or had significant contact with while at the firm. Oral or written notice both work. The notice can state your departure, your new address, and your willingness to handle the work.
Georgia Rule 1.16(d) still applies on the way out. Protect the client's interests, give proper notice, and return client papers. I'd still send a letter so there's a record.
How much notice do you have to give your firm in Texas?
2 to 4 weeks. Texas Ethics Opinion 699 calls that ordinarily defensible when a firm requires reasonable departure notice.
The same opinion says clients are not property owned by lawyers or firms. If you have a principal role on a matter, the client hears promptly that you're leaving, that they choose counsel, and the financial consequences.
A joint announcement is preferred. If the firm refuses, you notify clients anyway, even if the firm tells you not to.
A blanket firm ban on copying client files or information violates Rule 5.06(a). You need enough information to clear conflicts. Opinion 699 says agreements barring post-departure solicitation violate the same rule, outside of retirement benefits.
Texas Ethics Opinion 422 from 1984 found a 2-year covenant keeping associates from soliciting or accepting firm clients improper under the former rules. Does your Texas agreement have a clause like that? I'd have a lawyer look at it.
What does California require when a lawyer leaves a firm?
In California, tell the firm first. Under California Formal Opinion 2020-201, a lawyer leaving counts as a significant development under Rule 1.4. You and the firm both have to notify affected clients as soon as reasonably practical. Unless the client would be prejudiced, you don't tell clients until you have told the firm.
The California notice lists your departure date, your new contact details, whether each side is willing to keep the matter, the client's options, where the file is, and who handles the work in the meantime.
On files, California Rule 1.16(e) says you release client files promptly on request. You can't take them without client consent. The firm can't condition release on unpaid fees or copy costs.
What changes for associates without their own clients?
Working on firm-originated matters doesn't get you out of this. Associates with active files owe those clients notice.
Under ABA Formal Opinion 99-414 and Florida Bar Rule 4-5.8, that usually means a joint notice with the firm. The client decides who keeps the file.
In Florida you can't contact clients on your own until you've tried to negotiate that joint notice. Other states differ, so check yours first.
What happens to client files and non-competes when you leave?
Take your personal knowledge and public information. Leave the firm's client lists. ABA Opinion 99-414 warns that taking those lists can bring trade secret and unfair competition claims.
The file goes where the client directs. In Florida, file ownership can also turn on the client agreement and the firm contract.
The ABA Model Rules bar agreements that restrict your right to practice after you leave, except for retirement benefits. Florida Rule 4-5.6 and Georgia Rule 5.6 have the same ban. California Rule 5.6 bars them unless authorized by law.
Howard v. Babcock (Cal. 1993) 6 Cal.4th 409, cited in Comment [1] to California Rule 5.6, lets a partnership agreement put a reasonable financial cost on departing partners who compete. Comment [3] allows restrictions in the sale of a law practice. What would leaving cost you under your agreement?
Keep the search quiet until you give notice. Our guide on keeping your legal job search confidential covers how. If you have portable business, see how mergers drove partner laterals in 2025.
Partners who give their clients great service usually get repeat business, and repeat business brings referrals. We have represented partners with multimillion dollar books and decades of top notch legal work.
What should a departure letter to clients say?
Short and neutral. The letter says you are leaving and that the client chooses who handles the matter.
Under ABA Formal Opinion 99-414 you can add that you're willing and able to keep working on it. You can't disparage the firm. Texas Opinion 699 adds the financial consequences of each choice.
Florida and California want more. A Florida unilateral notice presents 3 choices: stay, go with you, or pick someone else. Every Florida notice addresses accrued fees and costs, deposits, and copy fees.
California expects the departure date, your new contact details, each side's willingness to keep the matter, the client's choices, where the file is, and who covers the work in the interim.
Compare the table above to your agreement. I'd read the notice clause before picking a date. What does yours say?