Ethan G. Zelizer

Having met Ethan has changed my opinion entirely on the profession of attorney at law. I met a gentle, caring, intelligent, and capable man in Ethan Zelizer. I so badly needed a viable and dedicated advocate to stand tall against a fortune 100 company. With their endless well of finances, they surely... sent their best to dismantle our efforts of proving that I was not only discriminated against under the guidelines and parameters of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Even greater and far more damaging was their constant retaliation for having complained of any such discriminatory actions against me. I was confused, lost, and very alone. When I found Ethan he swore to defend me to the end. A calm came over me as I immediately knew his honest heart would be noticed by the jury. He sought not to attack the defendants, but methodically delivered a clear and concise explanation to the letter of the law, unlike his adversaries who, while sinking deeper and deeper, resorted to disparaging and inflammatory remarks in an effort to cast the shadow of doubt upon our case. During discovery and depositions, Ethan fought against demeaning and irrelevant topics and caused my former employer to pay fees and fines due to what the court called "sanction-able discovery tactics." Unbelievably, despite the fact that all evidence pointed to their unethical, immoral, and illegal acts, the onus was on Ethan to prove that beyond a shadow of doubt, they had wronged a long term executive-level employee with a disability. Yet, Ethan was successful in fending off their motions for summary decision in my case. In the end, Ethan stood tall against Goliath and felled him with spectacular and professional demeanor and pinpoint accuracy. Ethan and his team had me poised for victory before my former employer finally settled for an amount they had sworn they'd never pay. My life was restored. Words can not explain my appreciation for his support, but also for revealing the heart of a lion. I owe this man my life.

I spoke to Ethan to discuss a problematic employment situation and to see what options I had in terms of legal action. He listened to my story, asked specific questions to get the full picture and discussed my options, while explicitly weighing the pros and cons of each option. After the consultation..., I felt empowered to make an informed decision about my future. Suing my previous employer wasn't the right move for me. Instead, Ethan approached the employer, negotiated a reasonable severance, and I moved on to bigger and better things. Ethan never pushed me in one direction or another. He wanted me to understand my options and make an informed decision. He provided great counsel.

I am a CEO at a mid-size Illinois company. I left in November and hired Ethan to negotiate my severance and no compete obligations. He spotted issues that I did not. He saw opportunities that I did not. He's a real person. Honest, energetic, caring and pragmatic. I plan on bringing ethan in to rewrit...e agreements at my new start-up. He's a gem of an attorney. Once you find him, you'll want him. He's in high demand but worth whatever it takes to bring him on for your cause. Thanks ethan.

You need to read my review to understand how good this guy really is. I started at a company that I thought I would spend my career with. Things went south when we had a reorg and my growth potential suddenly shrunk. I found another great opportunity with a competitor -- but not directly competi...ng with products or customers that I previously worked with. I had a non-compete but it was executed so long ago and I wasn't even sure if it was enforceable. Don't those things expire? I signed it when I was hired in 2003. It's been 12+ years! Well, I received a nastygram from the General Counsel of my former company telling me that I needed to quit my new job and pay damages for the "trade secrets" that I had shared. Needless to say, I never shared any trade secrets and I wouldn't. The letter was intense and everybody I knew thought I was going to court. I contacted Ethan based on his reviews and he immediately dealt with something that I wasn't thinking of -- my current employer. He wanted to know everything I had told them, what they knew now and what the relationship was like. He really cared about making my current situation as safe as possible. He directed me on how to talk with my current employer and then made contact with my current employer's counsel so he could advise them on the strength of the noncompete and the chance at enforcement. The noncompete was overbroad in several ways and there was a fair chance that a court wouldn't enforce it. He then found some strong cases that suggested that a court shouldn't try to rewrite the contract if it is overbroad and that taking a noncompete like this to court could be sanctionable. He came up with a game plan and we all signed on. Ethan wrote the opposing attorney with a strong response and a threat to seek sanctions if they tried to enforce an unenforceable contract. More importantly, he spent a good amount of time addressing the facts -- that I was not in a competitive role and that I was not contacting former clients. After two rounds of letters, he insisted on a face-to-face with them so that we could have a candid, BS-free conversation about what I was doing at Company B and why I had not violated my non-compete -- even if it was enforceable. The face-to-face was the key. We looked each other in the eye and just talked it out. I wish everybody did this before filing a freaking lawsuit. Thanks to Ethan, we walked away from the situation amicably with no hard feelings. In fact, and I can't believe that this happened, but my old company HIRED Ethan to redraft their non-competes so that they could be enforced in the future. That seriously happened. That is how well-regarded he is and how well his overtures are received. He hits all the right notes. He is lawyerly when needed and uses common-sense and straightforwardness when appropriate. He's a wizard. Most of all, Ethan never saw me as a cash grab. He could of turned this into a contentious situation and I would have paid him to defend me. However, he saw an opportunity to negotiate and talk thru the situation. It ended up earning him less in fees but far more in reputational value and my sheer admiration. To sum it up: I received a threat of nuclear litigation from my previous employer. Ethan took care of bringing my current employer into the fold, bringing the other side to the table for a no nonsense pow-wow, and after negotiating a walkaway, Ethan was HIRED by the Company that was suing me to rewrite their agreements so they could be enforced in the future. Talk about a win-win-win. If you can't beat him, buy him. You will not find a better attorney within this specialty. He might just be the best attorney I have ever encountered. I cannot wait to recommend him to friends and I am thrilled to sing his praises here. Thank you Ethan.

I am going to take a minute to review this attorney because he really impressed me. Allow me to explain the situation. I am 65 and I work for the state. My job was eliminated but there was also some acrimony regarding how I was treated these last few months so the state offered me a severance pack...age. It was 10 pages long, worth $12,000 and I couldn't understand a word of it. It scared me. There was language about my benefits and retirement plan and I couldn't make heads or tails of it. I looked for an attorney. I called two before Ethan and both of them wanted to set up a consultation for about $500 and then would quote me on an hourly rate. I was ready to do it because it seemed like I needed to spend to get the peace of mind. But that is a lot of money for me. I called Ethan next as my last of the three that I planned to talk to. I got his receptionist and he ended up calling me from his car on the way back from court about two hours later. He was returning his calls for the morning. He had more after me. I was surprised because he asked me a lot of questions. I explained that I didn't want to start the "clock" and that I just wanted to see what it would cost. However, he didn't want to start the clock either. He wanted to know the situation. He explained that whether it was a layoff, a termination or something else would help him understand what type of agreement they gave me. He then asked me to describe the sections that worried me. He then spent 30 minutes describing what the document was doing, what the sections that bothered me meant and concluded that the agreement was fairly standard. After explaining the sections that worried me, I felt so much better. I then offered to meet with him to pay him his consultation fee. He asked, "why?" "Do you still have issues with the agreement?" I explained that I felt good about the agreement and that he was tremendous for helping me. He then said that it was his pleasure to help me out and that he didn't feel the need to charge me because it was an unexpected situation in my life and that every penny probably matters right now. He suggested I pass on the good will in some other way to someone who may need it. This is an ATTORNEY telling me this. He told me to basically practice Karma. He then asked how many days I had to sign and offered to take a quick pass on the agreement if I emailed it to him for additional peace of mind. He coughed it up to a quick "pro bono" job. However, I didn't need it. He had already gone through the parts that worried me and explained them in a manner that was crystal clear. I am not reviewing Ethan so that the world may think he works for free. He doesn't. He represents executives and employees making much more money than me. I am a very small fish and not his usual client type. He just wanted to help because he had the time and opportunity. He made me feel like a client from the start. I've read his reviews -- every one of them. I am not sure if there is any other attorney out there as smart, kind, respectful and decent as Ethan Zelizer. I kind of wish that I had something to fight about so he could represent me. For all of you who need an employment attorney, stop now. Hire Ethan Zelizer. He is on the side of the angels.