Advice and representation for individuals
Settlement Agreements & Brokering Severances
A settlement agreement sets out the terms on which you will leave your employment. To protect your best interests, you need the guidance of an experienced employment lawyer before signing – let our team help you. Our employment lawyers have decades of combined experience in negotiating severance packages.
Remuneration arrangements for financial services executives, fund managers and insurance professionals can be especially complicated; we have a great deal of experience in ensuring that they are properly dealt with in a settlement agreement. We are used to dealing with LTIPs, share options, restricted shares, carried interest, sweet equity, and complex bonus arrangements involving good/bad leaver status. And crucially, we take the protection of your professional reputation very seriously.
We will not mechanically “rubber stamp” settlement agreements (no matter how much some employers might prefer us to). We will weigh up the offer on the table against the strengths of your case and with your interests in mind, to advise you on whether you have a good deal. We will talk you through the terms – including the restrictions – and what they mean for you.
If there is a need to negotiate the terms being offered, we can either advise you on the best way to do so, or bargain with your employer directly on your behalf.
Sometimes the deal is fair; in which case our clients walk away with the agreement signed in short order. Often, however, we help our clients achieve more money, more favourable terms, fewer (or no) restrictions on the kind of work they can do in the future, and ultimately, the security of knowing there is nothing else that can be squeezed out of the employer. While the settlement is important, it is also important to remember that during the period we are working for you, we will take the weight off your shoulders regarding this matter, through what can be a difficult and uncertain time, allowing you to focus your energy and time on the next stage of your career.