What to expect
Here is how an employment case actually works — what happens first, what it asks of you, and where the choices along the way are yours. The short version: your part is manageable, I walk you through the hard bits, and whether this ever becomes a lawsuit is up to you. You won't be kept in the dark about any of it.
Telling me your story. Gathering your documents. And, only if we file a lawsuit, helping answer discovery — sometimes with a deposition. I walk you through each of those and make them as painless as I can. Everything in between is mine: the strategy, the filings, the deadlines, the negotiation.
Most cases are built from documents you already have: emails, texts, reviews, write-ups, pay records. When we work together, I send you a private upload link — no mailing, no fax, no special software.
Step by step
You tell me what happened — free, confidential, no commitment. Then comes the question everything else depends on: what is a good outcome for you? Money is one answer. Keeping your job is another. A clean exit is a third. Your answer decides how we play it — including whether we play at all.
I gather the facts and documents, map the timeline, and tell you straight what's provable and what it's worth. Who knew, how did they know, and when did they know — those are the big things, and the timeline usually answers them.
Many cases resolve before a lawsuit is ever filed: a demand letter to your employer — in substance, "we appreciate the severance offer, but it doesn't take into account the laws you broke along the way" — backed by a complaint that's already written and ready to file. Whether to try this is your call. And priced honestly: it's not unusual to go the negotiated route and have no deal made. If that happens, you decide — file, or walk away. You are never pushed into a lawsuit you didn't choose.
Whether to sue is your decision, not mine. If you choose to move forward, filing tends to change the conversation.
Both sides exchange information. You'll help me answer the other side's questions about your story — I draft right alongside you. In some cases you'll also sit for a deposition: questions under oath from the employer's lawyer. Nobody sits for one of mine without rehearsing the hard questions with me first.
Most cases that are filed settle before trial, often at a mediation, once the strength of the case is clear. A few go all the way — and I build every one as if it will.
It depends, and I won't pretend otherwise. Some cases resolve in months through a demand. A filed case in discovery can run a year or more. At our first talk I'll give you a realistic picture for your situation, and keep it honest as things move.
Nothing up front, and nothing at all unless we win. I work on contingency and advance the costs, so there's no bill landing while you're already out of work. My fee comes only out of what we recover.
Probably not — and it's more your call than most people know. Many cases settle before a lawsuit is ever filed, and whether to file is yours. Of the cases that are filed, most still settle before trial.
The standard complaint about lawyers: the case gets filed, months pass, nobody calls back. That won't happen here. Start to finish, it's me you deal with, and I tell you what's happening and why — especially when it's hard to hear.
No. The first conversation is just information. You decide what to do with it.
No. Many cases settle before anything is ever filed, and whether to file is always your choice. If we try to resolve it first and it doesn't settle, we can walk away — you are never forced into a lawsuit.
That's exactly what the first call is for. If it isn't a case I handle, I'll tell you — and point you somewhere better.
To start: your story, and the documents you already have. If we file, you'll help respond to discovery, and in some cases you'll sit for a deposition. I walk you through every step and make each one as easy as possible.
I'll share a private Google Drive folder for your case — you upload straight from your phone or computer, whenever it's convenient. The how-to for the tricky parts — text messages, email threads, pay records — is written out step by step on one page, and where it falls short, I fill the gap.
Yes — and sometimes that's the better time to talk. What you do now can matter later.
Nothing unless we win. I advance the costs and take my fee only out of what we recover.
The first conversation is confidential and free, and there's no cost unless we win.