Should I Hire a Lawyer to Negotiate My Severance in California? 2025

If you are lucky enough to be granted a severance package in California, it is vastly important to your continued financial stability that you make sure the package fully benefits you. Your company may try to take advantage of you by offering an unfair deal, but an experienced severance agreement lawyer can get a better one. You may ask, “Should I hire a lawyer to negotiate my severance in California?” It depends.

Should I Hire a Lawyer to Negotiate My Severance in California?

Yes, you should hire a lawyer to negotiate your severance agreement in California. While you are not legally required to hire a lawyer to help with your severance agreement, it is highly recommended that you seek out legal assistance any time you are dealing with some sort of legal strife. After all, you don’t want to end up in an awkward or stressful situation because you decided to take on a legal problem without consulting a legal professional first.

Since California is an at-will employment state, no employer is legally required to provide their employees with any notice before letting them go. They can fire whoever they want whenever they want. Since there is no notice period required for termination, California employers are also not required to provide severance pay for any terminated workers. It’s up to the employers themselves to decide if they want to include severance.

With that in mind, you may think that, if you are offered a severance agreement, it is non-negotiable. It might seem like you can either take it or leave it. While this may be the case, it might still be worth it to engage the services of an experienced severance agreement lawyer. They can figure out if your agreement is helping you or your employer more. Negotiations can also lead to a bigger and better deal for you.

How Can a Severance Agreement Lawyer Help You?

If you are offered a severance package that seems either way too high or way too low, you may have reasonable questions about why that is. Your employer may be unwilling to answer them, so engaging the aid of a severance agreement lawyer may be a valid option for finding answers. A lawyer can get a deal that benefits you the most and explain your rights as a California worker. Here are some important ways a lawyer can improve your situation:

• Legal Complexities: It’s no secret that comprehending the law is a difficult accomplishment. That’s why people consult lawyers to help them figure out the legal complexities of various situations, including severance agreements. Your lawyer can translate the legal jargon into layman’s terms and make certain legal traps easier for you to understand.
• Maximization: One of your main goals in seeing a severance agreement lawyer about your severance package might be to see exactly how they can maximize your potential benefits. After all, you want to get the most effective and beneficial deal you possibly can. Without a lawyer’s knowledge of the laws surrounding these agreements, you may be unaware of how you can accomplish this.
• Negotiation: One of the most important and frequently used tools in a lawyer’s arsenal is their negotiation skills. Every lawyer must be a good negotiator to secure good deals and compensation packages for their clients. A severance agreement lawyer is no exception. They can negotiate with your company on your behalf to make sure your agreement benefits you in the most effective way.

FAQs About California Severance Agreement Law

Q: Why Should I Have a Lawyer Negotiate My Severance?

A: The primary reason why you should have a lawyer negotiate your severance is to protect your rights and keep you from being manipulated into taking a bad deal by your former employer. A good lawyer can look through the terms of your agreement and inform you of any significant discrepancies that will negatively affect you. They can also negotiate better terms for your agreement to make sure you are taken care of.

Q: How Do You Negotiate Severance in California?

A: To effectively negotiate severance in California, the very first thing you should do is at least consult with a severance agreement lawyer. They can offer you sound legal advice or even review your agreement for you. A skilled lawyer can tell you if your agreement is sound and worth signing. They can also determine if it needs more work to be fair for you in the long term. To negotiate a better severance deal, be ready to explain what you need by leveraging your contributions to the company thus far.

Q: How Much Does It Cost to Have a Lawyer Review Your Severance Package?

A: How much a lawyer might charge to review your severance package can vary widely. It is largely determined by the overall complexity of the severance agreement itself, as well as the lawyer’s experience, education, availability, and resources. The more effort your lawyer puts into your case, the more they are going to charge you for their time.

Q: What Is a Fair Severance Package in California?

A: A fair severance package in California is a relative term. What you may consider to be fair, others might see as a letdown. If you are comfortable with the terms of your severance package, then agree to it by all means. Ideally, a fair severance package reflects the time and effort you have put in for your company over the years. It is sometimes calculated as one week of pay per year worked.

Contact a Severance Agreement Lawyer Soon

If you are deciding whether a lawyer’s aid would be beneficial in examining your severance agreement, don’t take too much time. Your company may not give you a lot of time to consider the agreement. A good lawyer can prevent your company from taking advantage of you, and they can work hard to secure what you deserve.

The legal team at the Law Offices of Corbett H. Williams can give you sound legal advice and negotiate your severance agreement. Contact us to speak with a team member about your case.