High-Stakes Severance Negotiations
Before You Sign. Before You Resign. Before They Control the Story.
Strategic severance negotiation counsel for executives, principals, fund managers, private equity professionals, equity partners, senior operators, and highly compensated individuals.
Understand your leverage:
- Compensation, equity, deferred pay, and bonus rights.
- Reputation, references, and controlled exit language.
- Sensitive information, internal risk, and strategic timing.
“For highly compensated individuals, the separation agreement is often only the beginning of the negotiation.”
Clayton D. Halunen — Managing Partner
If a deadline is approaching, do not wait.
What you say, sign, or send now can affect leverage later.
Start Your Case ReviewYour Exit May Be Worth More
The company’s first offer is rarely the full value of the negotiation.
For highly compensated professionals, a separation package often involves far more than salary continuation.
The real value may be found in equity, deferred compensation, bonus rights, carried interest, vesting schedules, non-compete restrictions, non-disparagement language, reference protection, cooperation obligations, confidentiality terms, and the employer’s need for a quiet, controlled resolution.
The company’s first offer usually reflects what it hopes you will accept. It does not necessarily reflect what your exit is worth. Before you sign, resign, respond, or negotiate directly, you should understand the leverage you may have and how to use it strategically.
A Separation Agreement May Be Buying More Than Peace.
- A release of legal claims
- Confidentiality and silence
- Cooperation after departure
- Non-disparagement and narrative control
- Protection from sensitive facts becoming public
- A clean exit before equity, bonuses, or claims mature
Who This Practice Is For
Strategic counsel for high-value professional exits. This practice is designed for professionals whose separation involves substantial compensation, significant responsibility, sensitive facts, or reputational consequences.
01
C-Suite & Senior Executives
Forced resignations, board conflict, public-company optics, equity disputes, and protection of future career value.
02
Finance, Funds & Private Equity
Carry, bonus rights, deferred compensation, compliance sensitivity, and reputation in small professional markets.
03
Equity Partners & Professionals
Capital accounts, client relationships, restrictive covenants, compensation formulas, and separation narrative.
04
Technology & Operating Leaders
Equity, product risk, data security, internal complaints, vesting events, and highpressure transition dynamics.
Where Leverage Comes From
In a high-stakes exit, the issue is not simply “how much severance?” A severance agreement is often the employer’s attempt to buy something valuable. The mistake many professionals make is treating the offer as a benefits calculation rather than a leverage negotiation.
Economic Leverage
Senior compensation is layered. Salary continuation may be the smallest part of the real dispute.
- Equity and stock options
- RSUs and vesting
- Annual and performance bonuses
- Deferred compensation
- Carry, commissions, and profit participation
Legal Leverage
Potential claims can change the settlement range when they are identified and presented credibly.
- Discrimination or retaliation
- Whistleblower concerns
- Contract and plan rights
- Unpaid compensation
- Protected internal complaints
Reputational Leverage
The wrong exit narrative can cost more than the wrong severance number.
- Reference language
- Internal announcement language
- Mutual non-disparagement
- Board, client, or investor communications
- Professional licensing or future employment issues
Information Leverage
Sensitive facts can matter, but only when handled with discipline.
- Compliance failures
- Financial reporting issues
- Safety or regulatory concerns
- Fraud or governance issues
- Internal investigations
Timing Leverage
Many negotiations are affected by the calendar before anyone says the word “leverage.”
- Bonus payment dates
- Equity vesting events
- Board meetings
- Regulatory reviews
- Public announcements or transactions
Control Leverage
The strongest exit strategy keeps the client calm, precise, and hard to define unfairly.
- No impulsive emails
- No premature threats
- No resignation without analysis
- No admissions to HR
- No signed release without review
The Halunen Law Approach
Strategic. Discreet. Focused on results. Not every case should be approached aggressively. Not every case should be quiet. The right strategy depends on the facts, the employer, the audience, the timing, and the client’s future goals.
01
Assess the full landscape.
We review your role, compensation structure, employment history, separation documents, internal dynamics, deadlines, and desired outcome.
02
Identify leverage.
We evaluate whether the employer has legal, financial, operational, reputational, regulatory, or relationship-based reasons to improve the offer.
03
Build the strategy.
We determine what to say, what not to say, when to engage, who the audience is, and how to preserve credibility while increasing pressure.
04
Negotiate the exit.
We pursue stronger economic and noneconomic terms while protecting the client’s reputation, rights, and future mobility.
Why Counsel Matters
Your employer does this more often than you do.
Companies are repeat players. They have HR teams, in-house counsel, outside counsel, compensation consultants, board advisors, and standard separation playbooks. They know what language protects them. They know what they are trying to buy. They know where their risks are.
Most executives do not negotiate their own exits often enough to know what is negotiable, what is dangerous, and what should never be signed without revision. A lawyer experienced in high-stakes separation negotiations can help level the field.
The goal is not simply to ask for more. The goal is to understand the pressure points and negotiate intelligently.
A More Selective Practice
This is not an ordinary severance review.
A routine severance agreement may involve a few weeks or months of pay. A high-stakes professional separation can involve years of compensation, equity rights, career reputation, investor relationships, regulatory sensitivity, internal claims, or future employment restrictions.
This practice is designed for separations with complexity in complicated issues including compensation, equity, deferred compensation, bonus rights, restrictive covenants, reputational concerns, sensitive internal information, whistleblower issues, discrimination, retaliation, or other leverage-bearing circumstances.
Questions Executives Ask.
Yes. If you are a highly compensated professional, the agreement may affect far more than severance. It may waive claims, eliminate compensation rights, restrict future employment, control what you can say, and affect your reputation.
“Standard” does not mean final. It also does not mean fair. Employers often use standard agreements because those agreements are written to protect the company, not to account for your full compensation, leverage, legal claims, or future career concerns.
Yes. Severance agreements are often negotiable, especially when the employee has legal claims, compensation rights, equity issues, reputational concerns, or information that creates risk for the employer. The key is not simply asking for more. The key is showing why more is justified.
Do not resign without legal advice if significant compensation, equity, claims, or reputation issues are involved. The difference between resignation, termination, forced resignation, constructive discharge, and negotiated transition can matter legally and financially.
Reports about fraud, compliance failures, discrimination, retaliation, safety issues, financial misconduct, or regulatory concerns are much more likely to create legal claims or negotiation leverage. The facts should be reviewed carefully before you respond to the employer.
Yes. These issues are often central to high-stakes separation negotiations. We review employment agreements, compensation plans, equity documents, bonus plans, deferred compensation arrangements, and related documents to determine what may be owed or negotiable.
Request a Confidential Strategy Consultation
High-stakes exits require strategic advice.
If your separation involves significant compensation, equity, reputation, internal conflict, sensitive information, or potential legal claims, speak with counsel before making your next move.
This form is designed for professional separations involving meaningful compensation, equity, deferred compensation, sensitive information, legal claims, or reputational risk.
Start Your Case Review
Please provide enough detail for an initial confidential review.