Originally Posted by Unregistered

Firms try to scare you into not leaving because it's hard for them to find trainees (especially the smaller firms). However, remember that you should do what's best for you, the same way that the firm will do what's best for them.

The concept of "Burning bridges" is complete nonsense, most lawyers know the legal fraternity is rather small, and they'd rather have a happy junior lawyer who sings their praises than make an enemy for nothing (since if you asked to leave, you're leaving whether or not you get their blessing).

Just remember, they may threaten you with the TC contract or some break-clause term (i.e. penalty clauses for leaving), but most (if not all) of the stuff in such employment/TC contracts are not enforceable, so you don't need to worry.

However, when you leave, be respectful, tell them you want to go to this other firm because of xxx or yyy reasons (that your current firm can't fulfil) and thank them.

This is especially important if you want to count the currently performed period (for example if you already did 2 out of 6 mths) in your TC, as you need to ask the current TC firm to sign off. Similarly, if you want to count certain work performed (for your TC checklist), you need to ask the firm to sign off.

Obviously, if you don't intend to use any TC period/work performed from your previous firm, you can just leave without much issue.