When an attorney leaves a firm, the clients whose matters that attorney works on get a letter: who can handle the matter from here, where it stands, and a date to answer by. The Illinois ARDC's Leaving a Law Firm (opens in new tab) guide and the bar sample letters below favor one joint letter from the firm and the departing attorney, and the ARDC guide says which clients are entitled to notice. With 30 or 300 clients, that is a mail-merge job, not a drafting job: one saved template, a CSV with one row per client, batches of up to 100, one proof per batch, and a log of who replied.
Mail one letter to every client, 100 at a time#
Save the letter as a letter template and upload a CSV of recipients; each client's name and any other fields the template declares fill in by mail merge. Approve one proof, then pay for the batch. Each batch takes up to 100 recipients and $1,000, so split a longer list into several batches. A one-page black-and-white letter is $2.05 all in, so 300 clients is three files, three proofs, three checkouts and $615; the $1,000 cap only matters for long letters.
Build the client list CSV#
Export the client list from your practice-management software, then trim it to the clients who get this letter: open matters, closed matters and move-only clients are separate files because they are separate templates. One row per client. A client with two open matters for the departing attorney gets one row with both named in {{matter}} and both covered in {{matter_status}}; two rows with the same name and address are flagged as duplicates on import, so a second letter to the same client goes in a separate batch.
Keep the address columns the import reads (name, address_line1, address_line2, city, state, zip, and company if you use it) plus one column per merge field. Only the first 25 columns are processed, so delete the rest of the export. Every merge-field cell needs a value in every row, up to 512 characters; name is the envelope line, up to 40 characters.
One client's row in the departure-letter CSV, turned on its side
Column | Example (fictional) |
|---|---|
name | Jordan Ellis |
address_line1 | 100 N Example Ave |
address_line2 | Apt 2 |
city | Springfield |
state | IL |
zip | 62701 |
letter_date | October 20, 2026 |
matter | Lease dispute with Grant Properties |
file_no | 24-0153 |
salutation_name | Ms. Ellis |
matter_status | Your next court date is November 18, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. |
trust_statement | We hold $1,250.00 for you in our client trust account. |
reply_by | November 6, 2026 |
Save the template#
Start the template blank or from your Word (.docx) letter, paste the template, and insert the merge fields. A template takes up to 20 fields, named with letters, digits and underscores, starting with a letter. Name the greeting field salutation_name, because the import treats a recipient_name column (and full_name and recipient) as the envelope's name column, so keep the greeting field's name distinct from the address columns. Single send refuses a template with merge fields, so even one letter from a template goes through Bulk Send with a one-row CSV. More on field naming and the import in mail merge from a spreadsheet.
Upload, proof and pay, 100 per batch#
- Upload one file of up to 100 clients. A file with more than 100 valid rows is refused with a message telling you how many orders it needs; split it before you upload. Rows come back as valid, invalid or duplicate, with each address checked for USPS deliverability. An undeliverable address usually means the client moved: call or email that client, note it in the log, and fix or drop the row.
- Read the whole proof. The proof is the first valid row, personalized. Read every line of it, then scan the other rows in your spreadsheet for long text and wrong figures, because the proof shows one client's values, not all of them.
- Pay by card. Printed the next business day following payment. Each letter in the batch gets its own status page with mail-stream status and USPS scan updates when available, and a Download PDF of exactly what was printed. Each batch has its own detail page under Sent; link it in the log.
- Repeat for the next file. Three files, three proofs, three checkouts.
The reply log#
No return envelope goes out with these letters, so every template asks the client to reply by phone, email (with the file number) or the client portal. That makes the reply log the only place a reply lands. The Alabama State Bar's sample departure letters (opens in new tab) packet recommends the same thing: a running master list of every client, when the letter went out and whether an answer came back. One row per client:
- Client, matter and file number.
- Link to the batch's detail page, and the date paid (the mail date is the next business day).
- Reply-by date from the letter.
- Reply date and how it came (phone, email, portal).
- Choice: stay, move to the departing attorney, other lawyer, or no reply.
- Written authorization received (date), file released (date), funds released (date).
- Returned mail (date) and the follow-up call or email.
After the reply-by date, work the "no reply" rows by phone before the firm's stated default takes effect, and record each call.
What to keep per client#
For each client, keep the Download PDF of what was printed and the status page (or a screenshot of it at the reply-by date). For the batch, keep the CSV exactly as uploaded, the template version you sent, the link to each batch's detail page and any returned envelopes. That record isn't a Certificate of Mailing and doesn't show a USPS-confirmed mailing date; it shows what printed and the letter's status. Mail returned as undeliverable because of an incorrect or incomplete address is not eligible for a refund or free resend.
1. Joint letter when an attorney leaves the firm#
These templates show structure, not legal advice; your state bar's guide and any firm agreement come first. {{double_braces}} marks a merge field filled from your client list; [square brackets] mark firm wording you write once. Lines are broken to fit a phone screen; join each paragraph after you paste.
When you use it: an attorney is leaving for another firm or to go solo, and the firm and the attorney agree on one letter. It goes to each client whose matter the departing attorney handles.
Timing: letters are printed the next business day, and USPS estimates 1–5 days for First-Class delivery, so pick a mail date that lands before the departure date, and a reply-by date the lawyer sets (the official samples leave it blank; allow for delivery plus time to call). The last bracketed sentence states what happens if a client doesn't answer; that is the firm's own wording, and your bar's guide may say what the default should be.
{{letter_date}}
Re: {{matter}}
Our file: {{file_no}}
Dear {{salutation_name}}:
[Departing lawyer], who has worked on your matter,
will leave [Firm name] on [departure date] to join
[new firm] in [city]. We are writing together so
you can decide who handles your matter from here.
The choice is yours:
1. Stay with [Firm name]. [Lawyer taking over]
would handle it.
2. Move it to [Departing lawyer] at [new firm].
3. Move it to another lawyer you choose.
Where your matter stands: {{matter_status}}
Funds we hold for you: {{trust_statement}}
Fees and costs incurred to date remain payable
whichever option you choose. If you choose option
2, [new firm] will send you its own fee agreement:
[same rates, or what changes].
Please tell us your choice by {{reply_by}}: call
[phone], email [address] with your file number, or
reply through [client portal]. If you choose option
2 or 3, we will ask you to confirm in writing so we
can transfer your file and any funds. [If we do not
hear from you by that date, your file stays with
our firm and we keep working on your matter.]
Sincerely,
[Managing partner]
[Firm name, phone, email]
[Departing lawyer]
From [departure date]: [new firm, address, phone,
email]{{matter_status}} and {{trust_statement}} are full sentences that are never blank ("Your next court date is November 18, 2026." / "We hold no funds for you."), because every field needs a value in every row and templates have no if/else. If one of the three options isn't open to some clients (no one at the firm can take the matter), those clients get their own copy of the template with that line deleted, sent as their own batch; a template can't hide a paragraph for some rows.
2. Letter announcing an office move#
When you use it: the firm changes address. Nothing about the representation changes, so the letter is short; without a personalized greeting it can go out as one shared PDF with no merge fields.
Before the batch: change the return address in Postmarkr first, so any returned letters reach the office that will be open (editing the return address after the proof forces a new proof). If you file a USPS change-of-address order, First-Class Mail sent to the old address is forwarded at no charge for 12 months (USPS DMM 507 (opens in new tab)).
{{letter_date}}
Dear {{salutation_name}}:
[Firm name] is moving. From [move date], our office
is at:
[Street address, suite]
[City, State ZIP]
Our phone numbers and email addresses stay the same.
From [move date], please send mail, payments and
documents to the new address. [We have asked USPS to
forward mail sent to our old address.]
The move does not change your matter, your lawyer
or your file. [Meetings after (move date) are at
the new office: (entrance, parking, accessibility).]
Questions? Call [phone] or email [address].
Sincerely,
[Name]
[Firm name]3. Letter when you close your practice#
When you use it: you are retiring, closing or selling the practice and can't finish open matters. Closing one finished matter is a different letter: the closing letter with a file-retention notice in our correspondence templates. The ARDC's Closing a Law Practice (opens in new tab) guide lists what this letter covers (dates the client must not miss, how and where to get the file and by when, a trust accounting).
Two batches, not one: clients with open matters get the letter below. Clients with closed files get a shorter version (drop the matter-status and file paragraphs; keep the custodian and the destruction date). Those are two templates and two CSV files.
{{letter_date}}
Re: {{matter}}
Our file: {{file_no}}
Dear {{salutation_name}}:
I am closing my law practice on [closing date].
After that date I cannot represent you, so please
hire a new lawyer now. [I can suggest lawyers who
handle this kind of matter, or you can call (bar
lawyer referral service, phone).]
Where your matter stands, including any dates you
must not miss: {{matter_status}}
Your file: by {{reply_by}}, please tell me whether
to send it to your new lawyer (I will need your
written authorization) or to you, or whether you
will collect it at [address, hours].
{{originals_statement}}
Funds I hold for you: {{trust_statement}}
Within [number] weeks you will receive a final
statement of fees and of your funds in trust.
After [closing date], [custodian lawyer] will keep
my copy of closed files until [date] and can be
reached at [address, phone, email].
To reply, call [phone], email [address] with your
file number, or write to me at the address above.
Sincerely,
[Lawyer name]
[Firm name]{{originals_statement}} is a full sentence too ("We hold your original will, signed in 2019; it is yours." / "We hold no original documents for you.").
Where the official guidance lives#
Open the one for your state before you edit a template. All checked October 14, 2026.
- Illinois ARDC, Leaving a Law Firm (opens in new tab) (rev. January 2020): which clients get notice, what a joint and a unilateral letter cover, and sample letters (its joint sample asks for a reply in an enclosed stamped envelope; these templates swap that for a reply-by date and a phone, email or portal reply).
- Illinois ARDC, The Basic Steps to Ethically Closing a Law Practice (opens in new tab) (rev. January 2017): the wind-down timeline, what the client letter covers for open and closed files, and the mail class it suggests.
- ISBA Advisory Opinion 12-14 (opens in new tab): the Illinois State Bar's answer on a departing associate writing to clients.
- ABA Formal Opinion 489 (2019), on firms' and departing lawyers' duties to clients, summarized by the New Hampshire Bar (opens in new tab) and by Lawyers Mutual NC (opens in new tab), a malpractice insurer.
- North Carolina State Bar, 2025 Formal Ethics Opinion 1 (opens in new tab): includes a full sample joint letter with a response date.
- Indiana Disciplinary Commission, Opinion #1-25 (opens in new tab) (April 2025): a worked departure example, including who gets notice.
- Oregon PLF: Departing a Firm Letters (opens in new tab) and Letters for Closing Your Law Office (opens in new tab) (.docx; the State Bar of California reprints the closing letters (opens in new tab)).
- Alabama State Bar, Changing Firms or Leaving Private Practice: Draft Letters to Clients (opens in new tab) (2021): joint and separate sample letters and the master-list advice.
What a First-Class letter can't do here#
- Give you proof of receipt. The ARDC's closing guide (opens in new tab) asks for the practice-closing letter to go certified mail, return receipt requested, and for any file sent by mail to go certified; your state's guide may say the same. Postmarkr sends USPS First-Class letters only. It doesn't send Certified Mail, doesn't issue a Certificate of Mailing (PS Form 3817), and can't give you a USPS-confirmed mailing date. For the clients your guide says need it, use a post office counter or a Certified Mail provider, and ask every client for a written reply. What each USPS option records.
- Carry a return envelope, a check or original documents. Ask for replies by phone, email or portal; return files and trust money separately.
- Go to people who aren't the attorney's clients. The Alabama packet says not to send these notices to firm clients the leaving attorney never worked with; for a letter to someone who isn't a client, see lawyer direct mail rules.