Executives who are terminated from their employment are frequently entitled to severance pay and associated benefits upon separation from the company. While receipt of a severance package offers a financial benefit to the departing executive, offering this compensation is not a charitable impulse on the part of the company. It is a calculated business decision.

A departing executive who is asked to sign a severance agreement is faced with unique challenges and opportunities. On the one hand, it is in the executive’s best interest to maintain cordial relations with their former employer and colleagues and to preserve their professional reputation. On the other hand, the executive also needs to maximize the financial value of their severance package and minimize any restrictions that could negatively affect their future career prospects or legal rights. Such restrictions may include:

• Forfeiting the right to sue the company over termination of employment
• Covenants not to compete
• Non-disclosure agreements
• Non-disparagement agreements
• Provisions which could make it easier for the company to sue the former executive

While some provisions in a severance agreement may be reasonable, others may be unnecessary or one-sided, unfairly burdening the departing executive and favoring the company.

Most departing executives are accustomed to having had the full force of the company’s legal counsel at their disposal in their work. At separation, the executive finds herself at the opposite side of the table. The legal advisors upon whom she used to depend are not only unavailable to assist the executive, they are representing the company’s interests against the executive.

Departing executives deserve the same exceptional legal representation to which corporations have access and to which they have become accustomed through their work. The Graves Firm is available to provide it.

Outstanding Representation for Executive Severance Negotiations

Attorney Allen Graves has devoted his entire legal career to the practice of employment law, including severance package negotiations and disputes. He spent several years as a defense attorney at Paul Hastings, representing the interests of large corporations in these matters. The Graves Firm now brings that extensive experience to the table for the benefit of departing executives.

Our clients have, in most cases, devoted years to the service of their former employers. They deserve compensation and benefits that reflect their dedicated service and the value that they added to their organizations.

At The Graves Firm, we provide departing executives with the personal attention and prompt, professional response corporate clients have come to expect from counsel. We value our clients’ experience and advocate diligently to preserve not only their legal rights, but their professional reputation and relationships.

If you have been asked to sign a severance agreement, or are involved in a dispute regarding an existing agreement, we invite you to contact The Graves Firm to learn more about our services.