Executive Contracts & Exits
The agreement sitting in front of you was drafted by the company to protect its interests. That's their job. Protecting yours is ours. Whether you are navigating a complex corporate exit or reviewing a new executive employment contract, a boilerplate template shouldn't dictate your worth. Lion Law steps in as your equalizer.
The insider truth about
how these offers actually get made.
Before founding Lion Law, I advised corporate leadership through high-stakes departures, equity disputes, and routine separations. I know the levers companies pull when they want a clean break on their terms.
Here’s the inside view. When HR calls a severance agreement “standard,” they mean it was built to protect the company. Before it reaches you, your unvested equity, deferred compensation, and any claims you might raise have already been mapped and priced—even minor complaints or timing slip-ups carry a cost. Then comes a deadline engineered to create urgency, so you focus on the payout and never examine what you’re giving up.
An offer like that is rarely a ceiling. It’s an opening position based on the company’s own assessment of its exposure. Knowing how that assessment is built is what lets us challenge the terms that matter and make the case for what you’re actually worth. I built Lion Law to rebalance the scales and fight for what you’ve earned.
Whether you are navigating an unexpected departure, a mutual separation, or walking away on your own terms, the structural mechanics of your exit carry lasting financial consequences. The standard paperwork presented by HR is naturally drafted to favor the company’s interests and is rarely a fixed ceiling.
We pinpoint any potential corporate liabilities that may have come up during your time at the company, mapping those against your unvested equity schedules and deferred compensation to help you negotiate a balanced package that honors your worth.
The best time to secure your exit terms, equity acceleration, and severance guardrails is before you ever sign on the dotted line. Standard onboarding offers are naturally drafted to favor the company’s long-term interests. We review and renegotiate new executive contracts to protect your financial upside, limit personal liability, and ensure your compensation structure aligns with your true market value.
Your compensation package is often the most complex part of your agreement, yet it is frequently the most misunderstood. From performance-based bonuses and deferred compensation to equity vesting and clawback provisions, we analyze the fine print to ensure your pay aligns with your contractual entitlements. Whether you are facing a disputed bonus payout or a unilateral change to your incentive structure, we provide the clarity and leverage needed to protect your earned financial upside.
Straight answers—no legalese, no runaround.
Longer than most people think—and the deadline in the letter isn't always the deadline in the law. California generally requires your employer to tell you in writing that you have the right to consult an attorney, and to give you at least five business days to do it. If you're 40 or older, federal law adds more: at least 21 days to consider the agreement, or 45 days if you're part of a group layoff, plus seven days after signing when you can still change your mind. That seven-day revocation window generally can't be waived, no matter what the agreement says. If you were given less time than that, the release itself may be vulnerable.
Usually yes. California generally treats true severance as compensation for past service rather than as wages, so it typically doesn't reduce or delay unemployment benefits. But how a payment is structured matters more than what it's called. Money characterized as pay in lieu of notice, or wage continuation that keeps you on payroll and accruing benefits, may be treated as wages and delay when benefits begin. The state looks at how the payment actually functions, not the label on it—which means two packages of identical value can produce very different results. It's worth understanding which kind you've been offered while the structure can still be changed.
Usually not for anything the release covers, which is the entire reason the release exists. A general release typically ends every claim arising from your employment, including ones you haven't identified yet. There are limited exceptions. Some rights can't be waived at all. If you're 40 or older, you generally have seven days to revoke after signing, and that window can't be waived. An agreement that didn't meet legal requirements may be vulnerable, and California law limits what a severance agreement can stop you from disclosing about unlawful conduct at work. But these are narrow arguments and far harder than getting the agreement right beforehand. If you've already signed, it's still worth asking. If you haven't, that's the moment when you have the most options.
Three commitments.
Every client. Every case.
No fee unless we win
Your fight becomes ours.
Here for you. Always.
