We represent executives and professionals in employment disputes, including separations, equity and compensation disputes, whistleblower retaliation, and the trade secret, confidentiality, and fiduciary duty claims that often follow a high-level departure. Most of these matters begin as negotiations. We approach every one as though it might turn into litigation.
We represent executives in separations and the disputes that arise from them: forfeited equity, contested vesting, valuation challenges, deferred compensation, golden parachute provisions, and breach of executive employment agreements. These disputes follow a familiar pattern: termination timed just before a vesting date, equity repriced or clawed back on strained interpretations of the contracts, or transactions structured to favor other stakeholders at the executive’s expense.
We represent executives fired for reporting misconduct by senior leadership, including fraud and embezzlement, accounting manipulation, regulatory compliance failures, and safety or environmental hazards. Many proceed under California Labor Code § 1102.5. In parallel, we defend the meritless trade secret and similar claims companies often file to preempt an executive’s wrongful termination case.
Much of our executive work is with technology companies, including major tech employers and venture-backed startups, on disputes over patented technology, startup-specific equity structures, and compensation tied to acquisitions or product launches. The practice also includes attorneys terminated from law firms and in-house counsel positions. On the defense side, we handle sensitive matters for selected clients.
Represented a senior security officer at a publicly traded defense contractor fired after reporting that the company had transported live munitions in carry-on luggage on a commercial passenger flight and violated protocols for handling Top Secret defense information. After extensive litigation over privilege and the handling of classified material, the case settled on confidential terms.
Represent an executive team recruited to join a purported AI-enabled security technology company and fired after raising concerns about its business practices, including its handling of sensitive data. Defeated the company’s preemptive application for a temporary restraining order on trade-secret claims. The matter is ongoing.
Ten-day jury trial on behalf of 24 individual plaintiffs against their former employer for wage-and-hour violations. The jury returned a near-unanimous verdict awarding more than 90 percent of the damages sought.
Executive disputes involve the intersection of often complex agreements and employment laws that protect every employee. Our partners work directly with executives from the first conversation through resolution to position the case for the best outcome.
The leverage in an executive dispute is built early. We build the record before we make a demand.
We can step into a live negotiation and take it from there, while positioning the matter for litigation in parallel. When the negotiation resolves the dispute, we make sure the settlement holds up. When it doesn’t, we file. The executive doesn’t restart with a new firm, a new theory, or a new interpretation of the documents.
Leads the firm’s executive representation practice, handling separations, equity and compensation disputes, and the shareholder-side claims that often run alongside an executive exit. Outside general counsel experience with technology startups, including equity compensation structures and capital raises. Eighteen years in litigation; former clerk to the Honorable David O. Carter (C.D. Cal.).
Full biographyKevin has spent more than twenty years litigating wage-and-hour and employment class actions, most of it for employees. He ran his own plaintiff-side employment firm for nearly a decade and has also defended employers, which informs how he values and settles cases. A Harvard-trained mediator, he handles the employment-law side of the firm’s executive matters.
Full biography