Get the contract terms you deserve so you can protect your career and future.

We help employees and independent contractors negotiate the contracts that govern their career. We help you prioritize what is most important to you, and obtain the strongest terms possible. As part of that process, we evaluate your workplace rights and possible claims, so that you can understand what you deserve.

The agreements we most often review include:

• offer letters and new employment agreements;
• stand-alone agreements regarding company policies;
• non-competes, non-solicits, and other restrictive covenants; and
• separation and release agreements when you leave.

Offer Letters and New Employment Agreements

Before you start a new position or project, your prospective employer or contractor may provide you with an offer letter and new employment agreement. These contracts describe the duties, compensation, and other terms that will govern your workplace conduct. They may also set out important restrictive covenants that can limit your career during your employment and long after you leave. 

We work with both employees and independent contractors on these critical documents. We review the offer, guide you through the critical terms, and identify potential issues. We then negotiate with your prospective employer, or help you negotiate, to obtain the most favorable terms possible.

Stand-Alone Agreements

Employers routinely adopt new workplace policies or modify existing policies and contracts. When that happens, your employer may ask you to sign a stand-alone agreement. While sometimes the changes are minor, often a stand-alone agreement can dramatically alter your compensation and benefits, or significantly restrict how, where, or for whom you can work after your employment is terminated.

We help you understand stand-alone agreements that may have a significant impact on your career, so you can take steps to protect your future.

Non-Competes, Non-Solicits, and Other Restrictive Covenants

Employees must pay special attention to the "restrictive covenants" that limit their behavior, both during and after their employment period, including:

• non-compete agreements that govern how, where, and when an employee may compete with a former employer;

• non-solicitation agreements that prevent employees from hiring or attempting to hire a former employer's other workers;

•  non-disclosure agreements that prohibit employees from using or disclosing the employer's proprietary or sensitive information; and

• non-disparagement and non-interference clauses that restrict what you can say about your employer, or to your employer's contacts.

We help our clients understand the consequences of these important restrictions, and negotiate language that will minimize the limit on their ability to pursue their chosen careers.

We also work with clients who have already agreed to such covenants.  We counsel employees as to the best course to avoid violating their restrictions.  We also advise our clients as to their options in challenging the enforceability of such restrictions, either through informal negotiations or through litigation or arbitration proceedings.

Separation and Release Agreements

When you leave your employer, you may be presented with a separation and release agreement. Such proposals typically asks for you to waive your potential claims against the employer in exchange for certain payments and other benefits.

We help you understand the proposed terms and negotiate a fair separation.

As part of that process, we help you assess the value of the proposed severance payment. Often, that value is directly related to your workplace rights, including your right to be free from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. You may also have claims for any violations of your employment contracts.

We can then advise you as to your options to enforce those claims - either through informal negotiation or formal proceedings.

We are licensed to litigate in state and federal courts in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. We also represent clients in mediation, arbitration, and before government agencies.