For many people, the termination of their employment will come as a great shock. Sure, there are plenty of employees who know they’re already on rocky ground – whether that be as a result of interpersonal conflict or just the reality of a struggling business – but for many others, that dreaded meeting with HR seems to have come out of nowhere.
So what if that’s you? You’ve just been told that your employment and income is ending. You’ve been given a termination letter that vaguely sets out some minimum termination entitlements that you will be receiving, and it might lay out a severance offer above those minimums. The letter states that you have one week to decide or the severance offer expires. What do you do next?
Well, if you know this post is written by a lawyer, then you’ve probably put two and two together. And yes, you absolutely should seek legal advice when your employment has been terminated. You may be owed notice and damages that go well beyond the statutory minimums, it’s entirely possible (especially if you work on commission) that those statutory minimums have not been calculated properly, and there are several heads of applicable damages that might apply depending on the specific facts of your matter.
But what should you look for in a lawyer? Personal recommendations from trusted friends speak volumes, but if you don’t have a referral that you can rely on (and even if you do), here are a few things that you should consider as you move through the process:
Trust
Given that bad lawyer jokes have existed for as long as lawyers have been around, it might seem strange to think that you must feel as though you’ll be able to trust your lawyer. Yes, it can sometimes be hard to read people in initial calls and meetings, but trust is foundational in the solicitor-client relationship. If you have any reason to feel like you won’t be able to trust someone to advise you or advocate on your behalf, then you should take that feeling seriously. And if a lawyer guarantees you an outcome – run!
Contingency Fees
Contingency fees serve an important purpose. They encourage access to justice for those who might not otherwise be able to afford a lawyer, and they help to limit the financial risk of proceeding with a claim, as well.
However, if your employment has been terminated and you’ve contacted an employment lawyer and they tell you that the only way that they’ll take your file is on contingency, and that they won’t work for an hourly fee, then you should absolutely get out of there. The reality is that most employment law matters will settle, and a great many of those will settle early in the process.
A lawyer who has taken your employment law matter on contingency can sometimes stand to earn a lot on their contingency fee for a limited amount of time and risk. If they aren’t presenting you with the option to proceed with an hourly fee, and if they aren’t informing you of the chances that your matter will settle early on, then there is cause for concern.
Public Profile
For the most part, the employment law bar has great counsel practicing on both sides. Some of those lawyers do have more public profiles as a result of years of thought leadership and good reputation in the industry. But if your lawyer is giving you constant “pick me” energy, then I’d suggest you look for counsel who is more interested in helping you resolve your problem.
If it feels like your lawyer is more interested in building their public profile than they are in helping you with your case, then you should probably trust that feeling. If your case involves the press and your lawyer takes that opportunity to advance their public profile without concern for your input or well-being, well then, yikes.
Your Demand Letter Doesn’t Seem to be About You
One of the first steps in any severance negotiation in a wrongful dismissal matter is the preparation of a demand letter. That letter will include terms upon which you would agree to resolve the dispute without legal action, and it will be sent by your lawyer to your employer or their legal counsel. Generally, that letter will describe some of the facts and law that are relevant to your case. It is meant to be persuasive and to highlight the risk that your employer may have as a result of the termination of your employment.
If you read the draft demand letter prepared by your lawyer and it seems to include things that aren’t true or don’t have anything to do with your matter (for example, it alleges that you have a Human Rights Code related claim without providing any facts, and without you having discussed any potential Human Rights Code breach with your lawyer), well then, you may have inadvertently found a claims mill. The only options that can exist in this scenario are: 1) your lawyer sent you a draft that wasn’t intended for you by mistake; 2) your lawyer is incompetent; or 3) your lawyer doesn’t care how accurate the letter is because they have your matter on contingency and they are trying to make as much money off of it with as little work as possible.
Option 1 is not great. Option 2 is awful. Option 3 is the worst because it combines incompetence with a complete failure of ethics. If you’re starting to feel like you might have retained an option 3 lawyer, then you may want to consider other options, like getting a second opinion, or retaining other counsel that is more aligned with your goals and needs.
If your employment has been terminated and you need help navigating the process, we are happy to help. Contact us to arrange a consultation.
