Provides guidance for California employees reviewing or negotiating severance agreements, including key legal terms, employee rights, and risks of signing without legal advice.
July 10, 2026
A Practical Guide to Reviewing and Negotiating Severance in California By Matthew J. Ruggles Executive Severance Is Not a Thank-You Card A severance agreement usually arrives at one of the…
July 6, 2026
For executives, C-suite officers, managers, engineering leaders, sales leaders, and equity-compensated California tech employees facing layoffs By Matthew J. Ruggles If you are a California tech employee facing a…
June 29, 2026
Top 5 Opportunities, Top 5 Mistakes, and the Strategies Executives Use to Maximize Their Severance By Matthew J. Ruggles “The biggest mistake employees make during severance negotiations isn’t asking for…
June 26, 2026
Why Severance Negotiations Change Once an Employment Lawyer Enters the Room By Matthew J Ruggles You’ve just been terminated. Maybe it was framed as a “restructuring.” Maybe it was called…
February 25, 2026
If you were fired, demoted, written up, or suddenly treated differently after speaking up at work, you are probably asking whether you were retaliated against. The answer often turns on…
February 14, 2026
If you are trying to negotiate RSU acceleration in California, the first thing you will usually hear is that forfeiture is automatic and non-negotiable. That statement is often delivered confidently,…
February 8, 2026
If you were laid off with RSUs in California, the first thing you probably heard was some version of this: “Unvested equity is forfeited. There’s nothing we can do.” For…
February 4, 2026
Most California employees hear the same script when they are laid off or terminated: “This is our standard severance.” “It’s not negotiable.” “This is the best we can do.” Sometimes…
January 9, 2026
How executives negotiate severance after a merger or layoff is rarely discussed openly, even though mergers are routinely sold as exercises in efficiency, synergy, and strategic alignment. For corporate executives,…
January 6, 2026
California severance negotiation is rarely straightforward for high-earning enterprise sales executives. When compensation is driven by commissions tied to large, long-cycle deals, severance discussions often intersect with disputes over earned…