Answers To Frequently Asked Questions

• Complete evaluation of your claim(s) with suggested strategies and outcomes.
• At the EEOC stage, the attorney will prepare your initial EEOC charge or amend it as necessary. The attorney will speak to and gather witness statements to the extent your witnesses are willing to provide and sign voluntary statements. The attorney will secure a copy of the Employer’s position statement submitted to the EEOC in response to the Client’s Charge of Discrimination/Retaliation, explain it to you and prepare a rebuttal as necessary or in line with the strategy of the case.
• Should the EEOC wish to mediate Client’s EEOC charge, attorney will prepare client for mediation, attend mediation with client and work to obtain best mediation outcome possible.
• Should the EEOC stage become unproductive and the requisite investigation period has passed, the attorney will request Client’s Right to Sue letter so that Client may proceed with his/her claim(s) in court.

When filing a lawsuit on my clients’ behalf, I offer my clients a hybrid-fee structure. Under a hybrid-fee structure, the Client pays an upfront litigation retainer, which varies on a case-by-case basis, between $10-$20K and the remaining portion of my fees are paid only if your case is successful.

If your case is successful (resolved) before I have to file a lawsuit on your behalf, my attorney fee is 33.33% of the settlement or award I am able to obtain on your behalf minus your upfront retainer payment so long as the 33.33% exceeds the retainer payment. If your case is successful after I have filed a lawsuit or arbitration on your behalf, my attorney fee is 40% of the settlement or award that I am able to obtain on your behalf minus your upfront retainer payment so long as the 40% exceeds the retainer payment. 

Yes, litigation costs are the costs incurred to file and prosecute a lawsuit. Litigation costs include: your lawsuit filing fee (paid to the court), service costs, subpoena costs, deposition costs, mailing costs, copying costs; trial prep costs, mediation cost, and more. Litigation costs typically run between $5,000-$10,000.00 per case. The client is responsible for all litigation costs associated with his/her case (but the attorney is reasonably frugal and does not spend unnecessarily or without approval)!

Retainers are due upfront before I begin working on your case. Likewise, litigation costs are also due in advance of the cost incurred. The only exceptions that exist are for personal injury cases and cases involving wage disputes under the Fair Labor Standards Act

I am straightforward and aggressive. I employ all ethical strategies allowed to prove my clients’ claims including obtaining witness statements, utilizing client recordings, highlighting the employer’s own shortcomings, uncovering suspicious facts, highlighting favorable facts, actively listening to my clients, active communicating with my clients, using creative research and litigation tactics, continuously monitoring resolution opportunities, thinking outside the box and more. Throughout litigation, I provide my clients with meaningful updates and honest information that will help us best present and prove their claims.

I am board certified in labor and employment law (which means I’ve particularly and selectively studied and become experienced in this area of law). I have pursued almost every type of employment claim that exists in both federal and state court including overtime and unpaid wage claims, whistleblower claims, worker compensation retaliation claims, retaliation claims, discrimination claims based on pregnancy, race, gender, national origin, religion, age, and/or disability and claims under the Family Medical Leave Act. Of the 100+ clients who I have represented, only 5 of my client cases to date have been dismissed with unfavorable results. I contribute my success in employment law to my passion about employee rights and my aversion to discrimination and retaliation. I am passionate about the cases I accept and will fight your case like it were my own. My most significant win to date involved a retaliation claim where the jury awarded my client over $3 million dollars. Typically, however, my settlements range between $50,000-200,000.00.

Each time I am chosen to be someone’s attorney, I am genuinely honored. My foremost desire and intention is to be the very best advocate for each of the clients I am fortunate enough to represent. With that in mind, I am extremely attentive, easy to reach and easy to communicate with. I respect your time and energy and expect the same from you. I keep my clients updated through emails, phone calls and meetings. I encourage questions. I encourage my clients’ active participation.

1. Lost wages – how much did you lose in pay because of the discrimination you are complaining about in your lawsuit? (i.e., if you lost your job because of discrimination, I calculate the amount you would have made had you not lost your job through the time you replace that old job with new employment)
2. Emotional Distress (these damages are awarded if an employee proves extraordinary distress due to the employer’s discrimination/retaliation; damages are awarded on a case by case basis and expert testimony is helpful to establishing the true sincerity of the damage asserted)
3. Attorney Fees (includes the amount you had to pay me to win your case)
4. Punitive Damages: These damages are damages meant to punish Defendants for engaging in such bad conduct. Not all case facts will support a punitive-damage award. The facts have to be egregious. Extraordinary. Punitive damages are awarded on a case-by-case basis.

Yes, most employment laws provide a limit on the amount an employee may be awarded for an employment claim based on discrimination or retaliation. Often time the limit is based on the number of employees an employer employs at the time the discriminatory event occurred.

• Your testimony must be logical, consistent and credible. The more evidence of the discrimination or retaliation that you can present, the more credible you become and the stronger your claim becomes. Evidence includes:
• Live witness testimony corroborating your claims.
• Written witness statements corroborating difference in treatment or describing discriminatory or retaliatory statements at your work place.
• Recordings capturing discriminatory or retaliatory statements.
• Provable examples of situations where you were subjected to different treatment.
• Evidence that your employer is trying to cover-up bad acts and/or their discrimination or retaliation.
• Sudden (and negative) change in your work environment immediately following your complaint of discrimination.
• Emails demonstrating facts that support your claim.
• Provable comparisons of disparate treatment in wages without reason.

Plaintiffs rarely seek reinstatement. Most plaintiffs want to get away and forget about the employer who has discriminated against them or retaliated against them, and they find other places of employment. However, the law does provide for the potential remedy of reinstatement.