Severance Agreement Attorney in Encino

We Review What You’re Being Asked to Give Up Before You Sign

A severance agreement is a contract offered at the end of employment in exchange for a release of legal claims against your employer. Before you sign, our attorneys evaluate whether that release would waive valuable rights, including claims for wrongful termination, discrimination, or wage violations. We apply the same case-evaluation approach we use across our employment litigation practice, so nothing gets overlooked.

We serve employees in Encino and throughout the San Fernando Valley. Before developing any strategy, we start with a complimentary consultation to understand your situation and what you want to achieve.

If you’ve received a severance agreement, don’t sign before speaking with us. Call (818) 536-7776 to schedule your complimentary consultation with Williams And Seemen, A Professional Law Corporation.

What Your Employer Wants You to Give Up

Employers offer severance agreements primarily to limit their exposure to future claims. The release of claims provision is the most consequential part of the document: it typically requires you to give up the right to sue over wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, or wage disputes. Once signed and the revocation window has passed, that release is generally binding.

It’s also worth knowing that wages and benefits you’ve already earned can’t legally be conditioned on signing. Only consideration beyond what the employer already owes you can be exchanged for a release of claims.

Key Provisions We Review & Negotiate

Every severance agreement is different. Our attorneys examine each of the following closely before advising you:

• Release of claims: We identify which legal claims the release covers and whether any of them have real value worth preserving or negotiating around.
• Severance pay and benefits continuation: Pay may be structured as a lump sum or installment payments. We review whether unused vacation payout, COBRA benefits continuation, and other compensation terms are complete and accurate.
• Confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses: California’s Silenced No More Act restricts clauses that would prevent you from disclosing information about unlawful workplace conduct, including harassment, discrimination, or retaliation. Provisions that go further than the law allows can be challenged.
• Non-compete and non-solicitation terms: California Business and Professions Code Section 16600 voids non-compete clauses in the employment context, including those inserted into severance agreements, with only narrow statutory exceptions. We flag any unenforceable restrictions the employer has included.

Where the agreement falls short, we negotiate on your behalf to pursue more favorable terms.

Signing Deadlines That Apply to You

California requires employers to give you written notice of the right to consult an attorney and at least five business days to consider a severance agreement before signing. If you’re 40 or older, the federal Older Workers Benefit Protection Act adds a separate layer of protection: you must be given at least 21 days to consider the agreement, or 45 days if the offer is part of a group layoff, plus seven days after signing to revoke your acceptance. A waiver that doesn’t meet these timing and disclosure requirements can be challenged as invalid.

Our Attorneys & the Languages We Serve

Antoine D. Williams and Bart A. Seemen hold Super Lawyers and Rising Stars designations, carry Avvo 10.0 ratings, and are members of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles. We’re recognized for assertive representation and meticulous preparation, and we tailor strategy to each client’s circumstances rather than applying a one-size approach.

We serve clients in English, Spanish, Farsi, Tagalog, Korean, and Armenian.

Schedule Your Complimentary Consultation

You typically have a limited window to review, negotiate, or revoke a severance agreement. The sooner you speak with us, the more options may be available.

Our Encino office serves employees across the San Fernando Valley and the greater Los Angeles area. Many severance and employment disputes resolve through negotiation, and we’re prepared to take matters further when the situation calls for it.

Contact Williams And Seemen, A Professional Law Corporation today at (818) 536-7776 to speak with an employment attorney before you sign.