David John Linesch

David Linesch

It appears that this reviewer is upset because I advised the reviewer that I did not believe the reviewer would be successful in convincing the employer to increase the severance initially offered. I explained to the reviewer that I did not see anything that would legally support the reviewer’s request for additional severance. To a large extent the value of procuring experienced labor counsel to review a reduction in force termination, where severance is offered, is to ascertain whether or not there is an opportunity to negotiate greater severance or other terms of separation. We agreed that we would nevertheless, revisit the issue as the reviewer had not yet left the employment at the time of our consultation meeting. About a month after our Initial consultation, the reviewer once again contacted me and inquired about us preparing a memo to the employer asking for an increase in the severance being offered. I had my Legal Assistant schedule an additional call with the reviewer in order to discuss the propriety of requesting additional severance. We again discussed the reviewers situation; I explained that I did not believe the employer would increase the severance initially offered based upon the lack of any unique legal claims of the reviewer, the fact that the reduction in force included a substantial number of employees, and that the severance offered was calculated pursuant to a mathematical formula tied to length of service. I did not charge any additional fee to the reviewer for the telephone conference. As the reviewer relates, my advice proved to be correct, as the employer refused to pay any additional severance in response to the reviewer’s request. With regard to referring the reviewer to other attorneys, this is common in our practice, as we believe it's important that if a potential client disagrees with our assessment of the case, that they are able to procure a different opinion from another attorney. Contrary to the suggestion of the reviewer, we do not receive referral fees from the attorneys to whom we refer these matters.