Executives Undergoing Employment Transitions

Ephraim helps protect the livelihood of executives facing difficult employment situations, including drafting and negotiating employment contracts and separation agreements. Having served in executive in-house legal positions for two decades, he can offer insight on what will work for most companies and for you, and how to get you there. Ephraim Starr, pllc offers this service to US-based employees of US and global companies.

For executives who are undergoing employment transitions, Ephraim is no stranger to the process. He helped large, sophisticated companies navigate employment and separation agreements for many years, putting him in a strong position to help executives who are now opposite such businesses in their negotiations. He has a sound understanding for what companies are willing to do and can help achieve the best outcome for executives, whether they are negotiating a new employment contract or a separation agreement.

What does this mean for the executives? As one example, it means not inadvertently getting saddled with obligations that are unfair, such as broad non-disparagement clauses, non-competes, or confidentiality restrictions that are too onerous for the executive’s compliance to be realistic. Executives should be able to continue practicing their livelihood after leaving their prior company, and if asked about their prior experience they should be in a position to speak truthfully and authentically about it.

Another example, of course, is the monetary component. When executives are departing companies, they don’t want to leave anything on the table. They should be able to collect all earned income, including incentive compensation, and they should understand their rights and opportunities with respect to equity compensation and other benefits.

As another example, if the company has language in the agreement that does not make sense or is inappropriate in the circumstances, executives should know that when there is someone at the company who has any semblance of reasonableness, whether the CEO, CHRO, or an outside attorney, the executive should be able to negotiate the language to make it sensible. As a case on point, Ephraim Starr, pllc recently handled a separation agreement that included an integration clause. If the executive had agreed to this clause, it would have negated his entitlement to substantial equity that was subject to a separate agreement. Even though the company initially told the executive that they were not willing to make any changes to their form separation agreement, when we pointed out this discrepancy, the employer accommodated the change to keep the equity agreement intact.

If you are an executive who is undergoing a challenging employment transition, whether negotiating a contract for new employment or separating from your current employer, don’t hesitate to connect with an experienced attorney for guidance. Ephraim Starr, pllc has been through many such situations on behalf of companies and would be privileged to support executives from their side of the table.