I’ve often been contacted by people who have recently been terminated and given a severance proposal to consider. Sometimes, the employer offers a small amount of money in compensation for a release of all rights and claims. Recently-terminated employees frequently wonder whether they should accept the offer or explore other options.
If you are in this position, you should contact an employment lawyer immediately. If you don’t contact me, please contact someone. These agreements usually come with a limited time window to accept the terms. A careful and fast evaluation of the terms of the agreement, and the circumstances of your employment and termination, is essential to understanding your rights and options. You may have more options than “take it or leave it.” But, every case is different and there are no one-size-fits-all answers. I will take care to figure out what’s going on in your case and tailor my advice to your circumstances. And the final decision is yours.
Because this situation has come up so often, I’ve created a method for streamlining the process, and building predictability and fairness into the fee for my services.
For a flat fee of $500, I will: a) run a conflict of interest screen; b) review the severance agreement proposed by your former employer; c) research the applicable legal issues; d) have a one-hour meeting (usually by teleconference) to inform you of your rights and options and to offer advice about what to do. More often than not, this represents a discount on my usual hourly rate. But it’s worth it to me to both get you advised and to see if there are other ways I might be able to help you.
What’s more, if there is a conflict of interest, I’ll refund you the entire amount. If after our meeting you decide to reject the severance proposal and you and I agree to pursue further legal action, the $500 will be credited towards payment of your attorney’s fees for that legal action, whether that is on a contingent fee basis or otherwise. This minimizes your risk and expense for the consultation.
If you are in this situation, please contact me by clicking here, and let’s get the process started. There’s no time to lose.