Employment Case Assessment
Every new employment issue that comes to slnlaw begins with a case assessment. This is true whether you are seeking help with a wrongful termination issue, a wage and hour issue, a non compete agreement or any other legal challenge that may have arisen in your employment.
We'd like to help you understand why we do it this way, what the goals are of the assessment, and how it works.
We'd like to help you understand why we do it this way, what the goals are of the assessment, and how it works.
Why an Initial Assessment?
The traditional way of doing business for law firms helping people with employment claims is either to charge by the hour or take cases on a full contingency fee basis (meaning there is no out of pocket cost but you pay 33% or more out of a settlement or judgment to cover legal fees).
We've done it both ways over the years, and here is what we have found:
Paying attorneys by the hour is often more than most people who have just lost a job, or are waiting for late wages, can sustain. Even though you can eventually get back your legal fees if you win in most of these cases, that doesn't mean you have the cash upfront to pursue it. This model left out many, many people that we could otherwise have helped in important ways.
Contingent fee work has its pitfalls too. Mainly, in order for a law firm to make that work as a business model, they can only take on the cases they have a high degree of confidence from the beginning will lead to a settlement or judgment. And making that judgment requires more information, reflection, and sometimes research than an initial consultation with a client can provide. This means a fully contingent fee law firm often says "no" to people without clear, obvious claims.
So this model, too, leaves out many people we otherwise could help.
That is why we began using the case assessment as the first step of each employment law engagement. There is a fee, but it is a flat fee roughly calculated to equal the 1.5 to 2 hours of professional time usually required to assess the situation and give clear legal advice about potential next steps.
We've done it both ways over the years, and here is what we have found:
Paying attorneys by the hour is often more than most people who have just lost a job, or are waiting for late wages, can sustain. Even though you can eventually get back your legal fees if you win in most of these cases, that doesn't mean you have the cash upfront to pursue it. This model left out many, many people that we could otherwise have helped in important ways.
Contingent fee work has its pitfalls too. Mainly, in order for a law firm to make that work as a business model, they can only take on the cases they have a high degree of confidence from the beginning will lead to a settlement or judgment. And making that judgment requires more information, reflection, and sometimes research than an initial consultation with a client can provide. This means a fully contingent fee law firm often says "no" to people without clear, obvious claims.
So this model, too, leaves out many people we otherwise could help.
That is why we began using the case assessment as the first step of each employment law engagement. There is a fee, but it is a flat fee roughly calculated to equal the 1.5 to 2 hours of professional time usually required to assess the situation and give clear legal advice about potential next steps.
What is the Goal of the Assessment?
The goal is not to decide whether you have a winning claim. Only a judge or jury does that, many miles down the road, and the outcome is never certain even on the eve of trial.
The goal is also not to determine whether you were treated fairly. In almost every case, you weren't, or you never would have called us. But everything that is unfair is not also unlawful, and even things that are unlawful have to be proven, which can be challenging.
Instead, the goal of the case assessment is to help you get clarity about your options, and your risks and potential upsides, so that you can make an informed decision about the best way to move forward after whatever happened to you.
In the end, the decision is yours. We will advise you on the strength of your claims, any difficulties in proof that we see, and what you might stand to recover if you pursue a claim and win, or if you try to negotiate an early, out of court settlement (or in some cases an improved severance package).
We will talk to you about the costs, both in time and money, of the various options.
Armed with all of that information, we will be in a position to tell you whether we think we can help you get the result you are looking for, and you will be in a position to weigh the risks and benefits and decide how you want to proceed.
The goal is also not to determine whether you were treated fairly. In almost every case, you weren't, or you never would have called us. But everything that is unfair is not also unlawful, and even things that are unlawful have to be proven, which can be challenging.
Instead, the goal of the case assessment is to help you get clarity about your options, and your risks and potential upsides, so that you can make an informed decision about the best way to move forward after whatever happened to you.
In the end, the decision is yours. We will advise you on the strength of your claims, any difficulties in proof that we see, and what you might stand to recover if you pursue a claim and win, or if you try to negotiate an early, out of court settlement (or in some cases an improved severance package).
We will talk to you about the costs, both in time and money, of the various options.
Armed with all of that information, we will be in a position to tell you whether we think we can help you get the result you are looking for, and you will be in a position to weigh the risks and benefits and decide how you want to proceed.
How Does the Case Assessment Work?
From start to finish, there are basically five steps in the assessment process.
If both you and your attorney believe the best course of action is to pursue a remedy, then we will walk you through what the next steps are with our firm.
In the vast majority of cases, this involves a private demand letter and attempt to negotiate a settlement or severance privately, without filing a claim in court. Sometimes there is a need to proceed directly to legal action- examples include if you are close to a statute of limitations or your employer has already indicated an unwillingness to discuss the situation reasonably.
Either way, the options, and terms of the second phase of our engagement, will be discussed with your attorney at your second meeting, and thereafter if you have questions before making a decision.
- You sign and return the engagement letter and make the initial payment.
- We assign an attorney to your matter, usually the next morning at our daily all-staff meeting.
- Our team works with you to collect any further documents or information we may need for the assessment, and the attorney begins the review process.
- You have an initial meeting with your attorney (usually by zoom) where you can fill in any missing pieces of information, and they can ask you any follow up questions they have.
- You have a second meeting with your attorney. By this meeting, they will have completed their review and analysis, and will walk you through their conclusions, and the most important considerations for you as you decide what to do next.
If both you and your attorney believe the best course of action is to pursue a remedy, then we will walk you through what the next steps are with our firm.
In the vast majority of cases, this involves a private demand letter and attempt to negotiate a settlement or severance privately, without filing a claim in court. Sometimes there is a need to proceed directly to legal action- examples include if you are close to a statute of limitations or your employer has already indicated an unwillingness to discuss the situation reasonably.
Either way, the options, and terms of the second phase of our engagement, will be discussed with your attorney at your second meeting, and thereafter if you have questions before making a decision.
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