"I've resigned, and now my principal is having a go at me in team meetings"

Start with what that remark was, and what it wasn't. It was poor management: commenting on a departing employee in front of the team does nothing except make the room uncomfortable and show everyone staying how they'll be spoken about when it's their turn. It was not a verdict on six years of your work. Your principal was reacting to a capacity problem landing on their desk, and you were the nearest available cause. That matters because it shapes what you do next.

Don't respond in the room, or in kind. Anything you say in front of the team now looks defensive and gives the remark a second airing. The colleagues who watched you work for six years already know it was unfair.

Put the record in writing. Your handover is your best answer. For each matter: status, next steps, deadlines, client contact notes, where the documents live. Send it to your principal and whoever is taking the files, and keep a copy. It answers the implication without engaging with it, and it is the document everyone will reach for if something goes wrong after you leave.

If you want a conversation, decide what it's for. If the comment is sitting with you, ask for ten minutes one-on-one. Keep it short and factual: you heard the remark, you understood it to be about you, and here is where every file stands. Don't go in to extract an apology. You probably won't get one, and asking for it hands your principal control over how you feel about leaving. The point is to say it plainly, once, so you aren't carrying it for three weeks.

If it happens again, it's a different problem. One remark is clumsy. A pattern across your notice period, such as further commentary in front of staff, work loaded on to set you up to fail, or threats about not releasing you on time, is conduct you can raise with HR or another partner, and you are entitled to get advice on your position. Keep a dated note of what is said.

Be careful with the exit interview. If you're offered one, be specific and unemotional, or decline. A measured account of one incident will be heard. A list of six years of grievances will be filed under "disgruntled".

Now the harder part. You covered gaps, worked through leave and hit every target, and it didn't buy you a graceful send-off. That hurts, but it is also information. Discretionary effort is rarely banked the way we assume. It gets absorbed into expectations, and the firm plans around it. That is not a reason to stop working hard. It is a reason to be deliberate in your next role about which extra effort you give, to whom, and whether it is being recognised as you go, rather than waiting for a farewell to tally it up.

Finally, this is a small profession. The people in that meeting will be your opponents, your referees and possibly your colleagues again. How you finish will be remembered longer than what was said about you. Finish well, for your sake rather than theirs.

The Dilemma

If you need advice about your own situation, including your employment rights, speak to a qualified practitioner.