California employment counseling for employers.
Handbooks, employment agreements, contractor agreements, terminations, severance — the preventive employment work that keeps California employers out of claims.
California employment law is harder than most owners realize. The Cal Lab Code, the FEHA, AB 5, prevailing-wage rules, meal-and-rest break case law, harassment training mandates — keeping a small or mid-sized California employer compliant is a real ongoing job.
We do the transactional employment work — drafting handbooks, reviewing classifications, structuring terminations, negotiating severance. The premise is simple: employment claims are won and lost years before they're filed, in the documentation employers build (or don't) during calm times. Our work is building that documentation correctly.
How we engage on employment matters
Most employers hit a few predictable inflection points: first hire, classifying contractors, an underperformer who needs a path out, an exit that needs structure. We scope each as a discrete flat-fee engagement, or fold ongoing employment work into an Outside General Counsel retainer.
What we handle.
Employment contracts
Offer letters, employment agreements, executive compensation packages — California-compliant.
See the serviceIndependent contractor agreements
Contractor agreements that survive AB 5 / ABC test scrutiny. Misclassification is one of the most expensive mistakes California employers make.
See the serviceEmployee handbooks
California-compliant handbooks covering meal/rest breaks, harassment policy, leave policies, and the at-will language California requires.
See the serviceEmployment risk management
Audit your existing classifications, policies, and exit playbooks. Identify the exposures before they become claims.
See the serviceTerminating employees
Structuring a termination to minimize wrongful-termination exposure. Documentation, severance, and the timing details that matter.
See the serviceSeverance agreements
Severance and release agreements — what California requires, what the EEOC requires, and what a defensible release looks like.
See the serviceWork the math yourself first.
Quick-and-honest answers before the conversation starts. Free, no email required.
Tell us what you're working on.
Every engagement starts with a short discovery call. We figure out whether the work is one we can take and what it costs — before any retainer.