// Ed. note: Welcome to our daily feature, Quote of the Day.

The firms that are laying them off are trying to help the attorneys but a consequence is that the departing attorneys are sometimes limited in their ability to be candid.

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They don’t know if being fully transparent is the smart thing to do or if it’s going to blow up on them.

If you are going to sign a severance agreement, make sure you understand what you can and can’t say, and that you’re not contractually prevented from being honest about your own particular circumstances when a new firm asks, ‘So why are you leaving?’

— Dan Binstock, a partner with D.C.-based search firm Garrison, in comments given to the American Lawyer on what associates who have recently been laid off should expect when it comes to their job searches, i.e., the need to maintain confidentiality as to the terms of their departure from their old firms versus the need to be candid with their future firms about what inspired their decision to enter the lateral market.

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Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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Biglaw, Job Searches, Lateral Moves, Layoffs, Quote of the Day