Attorney leaving? Notify clients before the departure date.

By the USMail.ai team, more than 50 years of combined expertise in printing and mailing

Direct answer: Clients learn their lawyer is moving on and how to choose who handles their matter, and we print and mail each letter. You upload the letter and the affected client list, check the proof and the full price, and approve. USPS delivery times vary, so mail early enough.

Statutes checked October 29, 2026: client-notice duties for law firms come from your state's rules of professional conduct, ethics opinions and court rules, not one federal statute, so this page quotes none. Your state bar or ethics counsel decides what your letter must say. General information, not legal advice.

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Why does a lawyer's departure need a letter?

Clients choose their counsel, so when a lawyer leaves, the clients on that lawyer's matters need to hear about it in time to decide. State ethics opinions and bar guidance commonly describe the choices: stay with the firm, move with the departing lawyer, or pick other counsel. Many bars favor a joint letter from the firm and the departing lawyer. Your state's rules decide the details, including whether and when a lawyer may contact clients alone. Your ethics counsel can confirm what applies to you.

What usually goes in the letter?

Bar sample letters tend to cover the departure date, where the lawyer is going, the client's choices, how files and any deposits or trust funds will be handled, fees already owed, and a date to reply. Many include a short reply form so the client can mark a choice and send it back. Keep the tone neutral: sample letters stress that the letter shouldn't pressure the client or disparage either side. The firm and the departing lawyer decide the final wording.

Who should get the letter?

Usually the clients with active matters the departing lawyer worked on, not every client of the firm. Build that list from your matter management system, then upload it. If a joint letter and a separate letter both go out, upload each as its own mailing with its own list.

How far ahead should it go out?

As early as the firm and lawyer can agree on the wording. Clients may have deadlines in their matters, and they need time to answer. USPS lists First-Class Mail at 1-5 business days on its First-Class Mail page, and USPS delivery times vary, so mail early enough. If a client has a court date before the letter could arrive, call or email first, and let the letter be the written copy.

How does mailing work on USMail.ai?

You upload. You approve. We produce. You upload the letter as a PDF or document, add your list, and check the proof on screen. You see the complete price before you approve, and nothing prints until a person on your staff says yes. From our own production floor: we print, envelope and hand each piece to USPS, and you see the proof and the full price before you approve. Every address comes from you. We check every address before mailing, and the AI never suggests or adds one.

If plans change, you can unapprove an approved job before its mail date, and the money goes back on your meter balance, not your card. A meter balance is optional, and you can pay per mailing.

Should the letter go by Certified Mail?

Usually not: the same letter goes to a list of clients, so First-Class Mail fits. If one client needs a separate letter with a USPS record of mailing, you can send that one by Certified Mail. Certified Mail is $1.15 plus the current USPS Certified Mail fee, which USPS publishes in Notice 123. We don't offer paper Return Receipt yet. You can read more on what Certified Mail costs. Other firm letters are on the law firm notices page.

What does it cost?

Letters starting at $1.15, postage included. For a one-page, single-sided, black-and-white First-Class letter. You see the full price for the whole mailing before you approve. USMail.ai is an AI print-to-mail platform, not USPS.

What does USMail.ai not do?

We don't decide which clients are affected, negotiate the joint letter, track client choices or move files. Replies come back to the address you print on the letter. We print the letters you upload, as you approved them, and hand them to USPS. Keep your own copy of the letter and the list.

What do people ask about USMail.ai?

Does a departing attorney have to notify clients?

Many state ethics rules and bar opinions call for prompt client notice. Your state's rules decide the details, and your ethics counsel can confirm them.

Can the firm and the lawyer send one joint letter?

Yes. Upload the joint letter and the affected client list as one mailing, check the proof and approve.

Can clients reply by mail?

Yes. Print your reply address or a reply form in the letter you upload. Replies go to you, not to us.

Do you add client addresses for us?

No. Every address comes from you, and the AI never suggests one. We check every address before mailing.

When does my letter go to USPS?

By default, letters you approve before 10 p.m. CT are handed to USPS the next business day (Monday to Friday). USPS delivery times vary. USPS handles delivery from there. There are no contracts, subscriptions or setup fees.

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