Negotiating a Severance Package
At our law firm in New York, we help executives and employees negotiate severance packages. Typically the company will offer the executive a severance package and our goal is to improve the package. We use an incremental approach. At first, we coach the executive to help him negotiate a better package and we stay in the background. Often it is better if the lawyers stay out of sight.
In coaching an executive, we help them understand the dynamics of the negotiation. The executive is often keyed into the wrong factors as they tend to get caught up in the politics and personality issues at play. We identify potential legal and business issues that will motivate the company to increase the severance package. Then we work with the executive in approaching the appropriate person at the company. If all goes well, we are able to operate behind the scenes and help the executive enhance the severance package so that the transition to a new position is smoother and less stressful on everyone. Our goal is to keep the process professional and as smooth as possible so our clients can move on with their lives. Sometimes it is necessary to take stronger steps and that will be addressed in a future blog entry.
