“Of course. Do you have questions about the financial aspects of being a partner?”

“No.” She rushed out the words: “I’m resigning. It was a very difficult decision. I was offered a position as associate general counsel of Popflicks on Saturday and I’ve accepted.”

His face didn’t betray any emotion. “Are you sure? You’ve worked very hard to make partner, and we view you as a tremendous asset to the firm—both for your legal acumen and your ability to work well with others. We don’t want to lose you.” He leaned into his argument, as if relishing a good fight. “Is it the compensation? We’re in lockstep here which makes it difficult for us to maneuver, but certainly we can consider it.”

“The compensation is good, especially with the stock options, but it’s more the lifestyle.” She’d been surprised to find out she’d be making more money at Popflicks.

He looked slightly relieved that it was not just better compensation. “I’m not sure that the general counsel work/life balance is that much better than a law firm.” He paused. “Remember that in a law firm, you do have colleagues who can help you out.”

That wasn’t what just happened with my planned vacation. But she didn’t want to raise that and look like she quit for that reason. She wanted to leave on good terms.

He said, “Also, you’re still the outside counsel. You can say no. You can set parameters. If you’re the inside counsel, you don’t have that choice. You’ve got one client and you need to support that client.”

But I do get to call outside counsel for help, and then I’m the client. Maybe he could see that that line of argument was not winning. He stood.

“We were on that one case together. And I remember our discussing: how did this happen? How could it have happened? And I was relieved I was being called in to fix it, and not the one who was responsible for it. But if you’re the inside counsel—” He sat in the chair next to her and leaned in. “You’re on the hook. You’ve got the potential liability. There’s a reason why you may be paid more. As the outside counsel, I’ve sometimes wondered how my client did something so foolish. When you’re the inside counsel, you’re on the front line. You’re the one responsible.” There was a reason he was the senior managing partner of the firm. She worried about liability. But she’d only have liability if she was responsible or involved. And she wasn’t going to make a decision that conflicted with the law. She was confident about that.