Marc E. Gustafson

Having started my own company, a former employer filed a lawsuit out of malice - citing my non-compete agreement, and attempted to shut down my new business. Marc Gustafson was the third attorney I consulted, and had a completely different approach than the others. Instead of preparing for court and ...quoting me his hourly rate, he was rather pragmatic, more focused on how we could avoid going to court all together. Who wants to get sued, especially during your first year of business - court can be a crap-shoot, it is risky and unpredictable! Marc dealt with things in a sensible and realistic way. He was practical, trying to work towards a settlement, offering ideas / suggestions in the midst of a very stressful situation, to resolve this bitter dispute. Over the course of a couple months, having an extremely irrational adversary with completely unreasonable expectations, Marc continued to set the pace. He was quickly accessible, even on his mobile, easy to communicate with - a straight shooter no doubt. Somehow we reached common ground and both sides achieved an agreeable settlement that avoided litigation successfully! Marc's strategy and manner of handling the Non-compete Agreement lawsuit - which could have had devastating consequences for my new business - achieved the hoped for, mitigated conclusion. I would hope not to need him in future, but found him very personable, and strongly recommend him!

Marc Gustafson was a terrific support for me though a severance negotiation. He fully explained the details of the agreement and ensured that I understood my options. Marc regularly communicated the status of the project (even when he was on vacation!) and maintained sufficient pressure to keep the n...egotiations moving at a steady pace. The results were very positive. I strongly recommend Marc for helping with employment issues.

I came across Marc like many of you who are looking for an attorney for an important matter that possibly showed up unknowingly in your life. I spoke to several attorneys before hiring Marc based on my gut instinct. He is an avid listener, understands the nature of your problem by asking you many que...stions. If he decides to represent you, he will offer many possible solutions along with the possible consequences associated with each particular way of moving forward. My case required understanding of employment law and solid negotiation skill sets. Marc really used his legal knowledge throughout the process and suggested several steps along the process that was well thought out. My ex-employer had retained legal counsel from a very large firm who played dirty and used sneaky techniques, however Marc played it like Garry Kasparov (who is one of the best Chess players of all times and could think several steps ahead). He will also follow up to make sure that all bases are covered and will keep you updated on the entire process. He is expensive but worth the price; you pay what you get. He is honest and will be upfront with you if he is not happy about something and I really appreciate that. You don't want a yes man who is just doing what you ask him to do. Marc will put himself on the line if he believes in you, sadly a characteristic not many "IVY" league attorneys demonstrate these days. One other thing that I liked about him is that he doesn't try to use "scare" tactics that most of these attorneys will use to get business from you. He has my thumbs up and I wish him best of luck in all his future ventures.

I met with Marc shortly after being laid off from a company for which I had worked over 20 years. It was a very difficult time in my life and I asked Marc to review the severance agreement I received before I signed it. He was great. I found Marc very easy to talk to and I found his advice very he...lp. At his recommendation, I asked for and received the money necessary to extend my COBRA benefits from one month to 4 months, which meant I received an additional $4,200 in severance. That was more than ten times what I paid for the consultation with Marc and it was something I would never have thought to do without his input. I would recommend Marc to anyone who gets laid off.

I was referred to Marc by a trusted colleague for a contract dispute involving litigation. Marc handled the complex negotiations for settlement and I was very satisfied with the outcome. In addition, I felt that Marc had my best interests in mind with sound advice during the process. I would work wi...th Marc again and highly recommend his services.