Ethan G. Zelizer

Ethan provided me with advice on a separation agreement with a former employer in the financial services industry. He was diligent and detailed in reviewing each paragraph of the agreement and various equity documents and renegotiated a significantly better non-solicitation and exit-package based on ...what we believed to be an unlawful termination. I enjoyed working with him and appreciated his quick responses, updates, advice and timely follow-up. He has strong negotiations skills and is passionate about his work. I interviewed lawyers from a few top law firms and Ethan stood out among his peers with his client-focused, proactive and results-oriented approach.

Ethan is in a word fantastic. I was senior administrator at a non-profit organization and was referred to him as I began settlement negotiations in a wrongful termination dispute with my employer. He came highly recommended for his legal acumen and ability to work effectively with clients who have ...founded themselves thrust into a crisis and are vulnerable. Ethan is 'holistic' practitioner, taking care of both your legal needs while being attentive to the emotional challenges attendant to negotiating a termination settlement. I found that he exceeded the recommendations I'd read and heard in referral. Ethan took the time to get to know me, to understand the nuances of my history with this employer and to incorporate this information into a comprehensive settlement strategy. He encouraged me to be an active collaborator as we worked together to craft our strategy to achieve a reasonable settlement. Throughout this process he demonstrated broad knowledge of labor and employment law, and skill as committed forceful advocate. Ethan anticipated where we would encounter resistance to our proposals, and responded with effective arguments highlighting the strengths of our case. He was objective about the challenges we faced, but reassuring in his confidence that the strategy we had developed would prove to be successful, which it was. Ethan has stayed in touch and continues to offer thoughtful advice about the details of employment transition. His advice is always objective and strategic in its assessment of long and short term objectives. He helped my family and me work through a difficult situation. I have come value his advice and recommend him without hesitation.

I am excited that I get to actually coin this term for Ethan. EVERYTHING you've read here is true. He is THAT good. Here is the short of it: I am a former SR. VP of marketing for a Fortune 100 Company. I have been there for 25 years. I was fired in mid-November with a mediocre severance pack...age. I met with Ethan to review the package. During our initial meeting, Ethan was meticulous with his questions and asked me things about topics I did not even consider. I took for granted that my position was eliminated as the Company had stated. Within a day, Ethan had confirmed that a far younger, less-experienced employee had moved into my position. With that (plus the various comments that, when taken together, really seemed like age bias); Ethan suggested several paths forward. He never pushed me to take an adversarial position against the Company. He was perfectly willing to bless the agreement and call it a day. However, he saw the motive. He saw the tactics. When I finally called him and told him that I was passing on the severance agreement and asked that he contact the EEOC and pursue an age discrimination claim; it was Ethan that told me to slow down and let him try and work with my former employer to reach an amicable resolution. The Company was resolute. They vehemently denied discrimination. However, after a mix of customer and coworker interviews, Ethan had put together an overwhelming narrative and argument for age discrimination (and whistleblowing retaliation). The Company increased the package. They increased it again. However, Ethan wanted the Company to view this as a HR problem and a problem with processes -- not just a dollar amount that they could pay without some sort of real "fix." We insisted on the Company following its own policies and investigation manual and in the end (although they didn't agree that I suffered discrimination), they found a problem with their own HR function and admitted that the situation was handled poorly. They agreed to fix it moving forward and we agreed to a settlement that was significantly more than what was offered. Two days later, the in-house attorney who worked for the Company, referred his sister (a lawyer who works at a firm) to Ethan for gender discrimination issues. YES, the Company's attorney sent his sister to ETHAN. This is why he is the "executive whisperer." He knows how to handle your situation. Often, better than you do. He is impartial and open-minded. He is passionate and steadfast. He sees the whole picture. And when it is time to bring an action, he does his level best to work with the Company and make it a mutual issue worth fixing. He repairs bridges. He doesn't burn them down. I have worked with several employment attorneys in my role as a Company executive. Big firms. I can honestly tell you that there is nobody I would rather have in my corner than Ethan. He is worth the money and worth your time.

I first met Ethan in late 2016 due to a breach of employment contract. I was a President recruited to turnaround a recently acquired subsidiary in the market where I lived. The contract contained a back-end LTI on sale of company, which was to occur in 18-24 months. After much of the heavy lifting ...completed over 8 months, the company decided to switch gears: and demanded I take a reduction in pay, title and cancellation of the LTI. I said no, and was terminated. I carefully reviewed my employment contract, and started searching for legal advice. Ethan's positive review history led to our initial phone call. After the first call and subsequent live meeting, Ethan put himself in my shoes; and "walked the walk". He explained his own personal experiences that aligned very closely with my own. He helped me through the disbelief, anger, and loss of self-worth I was feeling. The communication was excellent via phone, text, and email, and Ethan was almost always available when I needed him. He was very careful to explain legal jargon and options, and had unwavering support for me. After months of negotiating across multiple venues in 2 states, Ethan was able to negotiate a settlement on my behalf. My family and I are so appreciative of Ethan's efforts, and would highly recommend him to anyone that needs his services. He's the big brother you need to stand up for you.

I had met Ethan during one of the most challenging situations I had found myself in and did not only find the best attorney possible, but an amazing source of support and reassurance in the time of complete uncertainty on all levels. I was forced to part ways with my employer, one of the largest real... estate companies, where I had been in a Director role for the last few years. I had also just recently become Permanent Resident (which my employer at the time had sponsored) and my wife (we’re a same sex couple) was employed by the same company, so my situation was especially sensitive and personal. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to pursue legal action, but I felt I needed help negotiating appropriate severance package and potentially, a consulting agreement that the company had put on the table. Ethan took the time to talk with me in-depth about all the options and together we decided to try to work out a consulting arrangement to help jump-start my career, minimize the reputational damage by being let go and spare me the stress of potential litigation. Even though he had nothing to gain from it, he still recommended that we try that route first, because he truly had MY best interest at heart, not his financial one. At the same time, he was still thinking through a back-up plan and preparing letters and documentation for the law suit, just in case this doesn’t work out - which ended up being exactly what happened. After working diligently and with full dedication for weeks to work out a fair agreement with the opposing counsel, they walked away from any negotiations and refused to show any movement toward reaching a resolution. Once again, I felt like I was at square one, diminished all over again and seriously doubting whether I am capable of going through this whole process against a proven bully, or if I should just surrender and take the high-road. But once again, Ethan had just the right words and right approach. He talked with me about our new plan, best case scenarios and worst case scenarios. He was honest and fair, but also extremely reassuring, which was all together totally therapeutic at the time of such uncertainty. Ethan carefully prepared a 25 page letter and went from a strategic negotiator to a very firm, full force attorney, leaving no room for doubt in his absolute dedication to taking this all the way to trial. He revised the letter countless times, making sure that every word was measured but also as impactful as possible and had carefully listened to any additional information I would provide, just in case it would help us. His upfront effort to make our case and give a snippet to the opposing side of what would come if we were to go to court allowed us to move on to mediation and successfully reach an agreement the same day. Not only did my employer end up paying way more than what they had originally offered, but more importantly, Ethan exposed all the wrongdoing and discriminatory behavior that was happening within the company to its owners. Ethan, I can’t thank you enough for all that you’ve done for me as my legal counsel, but more importantly, for who you were as a human during this very difficult time. You’re the best!