As a lawyer you’re hardwired to be risk-averse. I know this first hand because I often find myself encouraging senior associates, counsels & partners to “take the meeting.” If you’re curious about another firm, but aren’t exactly ready to make the change, there’s no downfall to talking with someone about a job at another firm. It’s beneficial to take the meeting, do some homework on the firm, explore their culture and gain insight. You can make connections, increase your network and also figure out systematically whether their firm is a better fit for you in the long-term.
I urge candidates to speak to the firms and THEN decide if a position there may help them achieve their long-term goals. Worst case scenario, as I mentioned before, you can cleanly pull out of the process. The best thing would be that you end up on an important partner‘s radar for a future move. Take these opportunities to network, find out market information and explore/evaluate your own worth. There are no negatives to doing this and confidentiality is always the top priority. Even if you’re in the partner pipeline at your current firm, you should be asking yourself if there’s a better way or more effective platform to achieve this goal.
Take the meeting and don’t overthink it!