San Francisco Super Hero Employment Lawyer
January 10, 2011 12:40 PM Subscribe
Looking for a recommendation on a kick-ass employment lawyer in the Bay Area.
Asking for my distraught husband. He wants to sue his current employer but is having trouble finding a good lawyer who is taking new clients. He's talked to a couple and they've said he's got a decent case, they just aren't accepting new cases at this time.
The gist of the issue is that his company was recently bought and the new company let most of the employees go and made new offers to the ones they wanted to keep. The first offer wasn't acceptable to my husband so he turned them down. It was a demotion back to a field engineer when he was at director level managing a team of 6+ in the old company. They then came back with a more comparable offer which he accepted. My husband is well known and respected in his field so it's understandable they would revise their offer to keep him.
Basically, after 6 months of working though, they've stripped him of any managerial duties and have made him a field engineer. He's spoken to his boss and the CEO who have flat out said there aren't any senior level positions available to him right now and they don't know when there will be.
That being said, he wants to resign and get the same severance that was given to the employees who originally left. The current company is not accepting his resignation, at least not with the severance package. So it's time to lawyer up. My husband has documented all of the events so we just need to find someone who can argue this case and hopefully just settle it for him. We really don't want this to be an ugly fight but feel there's no other option at this point.
Of course any other advice in this situation is greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Asking for my distraught husband. He wants to sue his current employer but is having trouble finding a good lawyer who is taking new clients. He's talked to a couple and they've said he's got a decent case, they just aren't accepting new cases at this time.
The gist of the issue is that his company was recently bought and the new company let most of the employees go and made new offers to the ones they wanted to keep. The first offer wasn't acceptable to my husband so he turned them down. It was a demotion back to a field engineer when he was at director level managing a team of 6+ in the old company. They then came back with a more comparable offer which he accepted. My husband is well known and respected in his field so it's understandable they would revise their offer to keep him.
Basically, after 6 months of working though, they've stripped him of any managerial duties and have made him a field engineer. He's spoken to his boss and the CEO who have flat out said there aren't any senior level positions available to him right now and they don't know when there will be.
That being said, he wants to resign and get the same severance that was given to the employees who originally left. The current company is not accepting his resignation, at least not with the severance package. So it's time to lawyer up. My husband has documented all of the events so we just need to find someone who can argue this case and hopefully just settle it for him. We really don't want this to be an ugly fight but feel there's no other option at this point.
Of course any other advice in this situation is greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Response by poster: The reason he thinks there is a case there is because his employment contract promised him a certain position which is not what they actually have him working, they have him in the original role he turned down. He would not and did not accepted that offer with the new company.
I see your point about the referral, something to think about.
And yes, he is currently looking for another job right now.
posted by lannanh at 1:05 PM on January 10, 2011
I see your point about the referral, something to think about.
And yes, he is currently looking for another job right now.
posted by lannanh at 1:05 PM on January 10, 2011
lannanh, does he actually have an employment contract stating the position and his terms of employment? It's very uncommon for most employees to have an employment contract, and an offer letter or something along those lines isn't the same, legally. This is a very important distinction.
posted by wuzandfuzz at 1:14 PM on January 10, 2011
posted by wuzandfuzz at 1:14 PM on January 10, 2011
Note that CA actually has an implied good faith limitation to At-Will which prevents you from firing willy nilly as COD suggests, and may cover a bait and switch job offer. I'm not saying your case is very good, but you might get paid off just to go away with a decent attorney.
Anyway I'd actually pay a good attorney for an hour of their time prior to moving forward to judge the strength of your case.
posted by bitdamaged at 1:15 PM on January 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
Anyway I'd actually pay a good attorney for an hour of their time prior to moving forward to judge the strength of your case.
posted by bitdamaged at 1:15 PM on January 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
Peretz & Associates. Specifically, Yosef Peretz. Good luck.
posted by lvanshima at 1:26 PM on January 10, 2011
posted by lvanshima at 1:26 PM on January 10, 2011
Certainly evidence of outright fraud in the job offer would be a different situation. However, things change. I have taken several jobs that changed dramatically shortly after I started. It's going to be very difficult to prove that an offer was made fraudulently. CA probably protects the employee better than many states, and certainly better than my home state of VA. But I've known people that got really screwed by their employers and had no case. In an at-will environment, the deck is stacked against the employee.
posted by COD at 1:45 PM on January 10, 2011
posted by COD at 1:45 PM on January 10, 2011
Along with bitdamaged, I'd say all you need is a lawyer who can find or knows an edge in California law that goes in hubby's favor. Any case is probably enough to get hubby what he wants.
When I had something like this, I found a free-consult employment lawyer on Page Mill who told me I had no case after maybe 10 minutes. No biggie.
posted by rhizome at 2:36 PM on January 10, 2011
When I had something like this, I found a free-consult employment lawyer on Page Mill who told me I had no case after maybe 10 minutes. No biggie.
posted by rhizome at 2:36 PM on January 10, 2011
While "go away" money may be what you want, and sure, maybe any case is enough to get it, it's unfortunately true that going after it (even if he deserves it) may earn your husband an unfortunate reputation in his industry. That said, a good employment lawyer should make you aware of that. (But in case they don't, it's true, and something to consider when you're weighing your options. IAABAELBOTOS, AINYL - I am a Bay Area employment lawyer but on the other side, and I am not your lawyer (duh.))
posted by wuzandfuzz at 2:50 PM on January 10, 2011
posted by wuzandfuzz at 2:50 PM on January 10, 2011
I should clarify a bit too, some companies will lay down over a suit like this. However many companies will also fight it to the bitter end in order to not set a precedent. "Go Away" money is not a guaranteed outcome.
My wife does labor law which means she also sometimes does employment stuff (the two tend to get mixed a bit), however generally on the companies side. She has had clients fight to the bitter end and pay more in attorney fees then they would payout in settlement
posted by bitdamaged at 4:24 PM on January 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
My wife does labor law which means she also sometimes does employment stuff (the two tend to get mixed a bit), however generally on the companies side. She has had clients fight to the bitter end and pay more in attorney fees then they would payout in settlement
posted by bitdamaged at 4:24 PM on January 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks for the recommendations and advice. Mr. lannanh's first priority is to find another job. Second is to talk to a lawyer to see if there is a case there. Obviously, we don't want a big knock-down drag out fight and would be happy to settle but we're hoping a good lawyer can advice him on that.
Also, as a side note to COS first comment, my husband spoke to 2 lawyers last week, the first one recommended the 2nd who my husband had already been in contact with. The 2nd one recommended going to the Bar which didn't seem like a big help.
Anyway, he's contacted the 3 firms recommended here, hopefully we'll at least get some good guidance one way or the other.
posted by lannanh at 5:11 PM on January 10, 2011
Also, as a side note to COS first comment, my husband spoke to 2 lawyers last week, the first one recommended the 2nd who my husband had already been in contact with. The 2nd one recommended going to the Bar which didn't seem like a big help.
Anyway, he's contacted the 3 firms recommended here, hopefully we'll at least get some good guidance one way or the other.
posted by lannanh at 5:11 PM on January 10, 2011
I sent you MeMail.
posted by ClaudiaCenter at 11:31 PM on January 10, 2011
posted by ClaudiaCenter at 11:31 PM on January 10, 2011
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If your husband is well known and respected in the field the best way for him to stick it to the man is to get a job with a competitor and do great work.
posted by COD at 12:58 PM on January 10, 2011 [1 favorite]