Organizational changes and bottom line needs can mean personnel transitions for attorneys in a firm or an in-house setting. The way an exiting employee is treated can effect your reputation in the business community. Separations and terminations that are the result of mergers, acquisitions, downsizing, personality clashes, early retirement, and re-engineering can be handled carefully, proactively, and positively.
 
ARA’s specialized outplacement services for legal professionals can help your organization to minimize the negative impact of such activities. If done incorrectly the organization can be perceive as callous. This can impair the firm’s professional image with a whole host of parties: Colleagues, present employees, the public, and possibly stockholders.
 
The career outplacement process is a highly visible expression of employer support. Such services bolster credibility, foster a socially responsible position, and forge a favorable settlement that can protect trade secrets and the loss of valued customers and clients.
 

An executive’s identity is often tied into his or her profession and standing within a company. That is why the issue of termination can trigger a defensive posture and the resulting denial mechanisms that occur on both sides can often increase already strained relationships. The whole process can breed antagonism, bitterness, hostility, confrontation, and rumors. Proper handling of a terminated or separated executive can defuse potential legal action by treating the departing employee with respect and support. This sends a clear signal and employees leave feeling that their employer has provided a valuable separation benefit—one that helps them look forward with confidence, to the future.
 

Attorneys have special placement, income and career positioning needs, derailment can be devastating. The "domino effect" can work both ways either positively or negatively. Executive attorney outplacement can turn the tide in an affirmative fashion so that an organization can smoothly proceed with it’s business objectives. That is why finding a balance and reaching a mutually satisfactory agreement is so necessary.