TRACEY’S PRACTICAL EMPLOYMENT TIP
OF THE MONTH*

JANUARY 2010: HAVE AN ATTORNEY REVIEW YOUR EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT*

There is an old saying that a lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client. This maxim also holds true for an executive or manager who does not have a lawyer review their employment contract or offer letter, and negotiates the language and terms themselves.

When reading your contract or offer letter, keep in mind that employers will purposely use language that is vague to leave options to exploit during difficult times. For example, my sales clients constantly have issues with commission payments because the company does not define the formula in the agreement or agree to provide supporting document for the calculation. In addition, just because the word guarantee is used as to a bonus does not mean it is guaranteed if you are terminated before it is paid. These are just two examples and there are many more.

Without the experience and training of an executive attorney, there is a strong likelihood that risks you could have negotiated away will get over-looked. The time to address the risks associated with your agreement is before you sign it and resign your current position. Once you are employed it is usually too late.

What an executive attorney can do for you is help you identify and assess the risks inherent in your agreement, and offer the best solutions for addressing the risks that are of the greatest concern. Most risks are negotiable but unless you know what they are and how best to address them you may experience conflict during, or upon exit from, your employment or be denied compensation you believe you had earned.

Next Month’s Tip: HOW TO RESPOND TO A WRITTEN PERFORMANCE WARNING

Monthly Tip Archive

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* Disclaimer: The contents of this page are for informational purposes only and nothing herein is intended to constitute legal advice nor should anything contained herein be taken or relied on as such. Each individual executive and employee has a unique set of facts and circumstances that the general discussion set forth above may be wholly inapplicable to. Only through consultation with a lawyer from our firm in which all of the facts and circumstances of an individual’s unique situation are explored and considered can a true legal assessment of your rights and remedies be ascertained. Any use of this information is taken solely at your own risk.