San Francisco · employee side only
We represent employees. Only.
Wrongful termination, discrimination, retaliation, unpaid wages, severance under pressure — reviewed confidentially, with your deadlines mapped before you decide anything.
California gives you real rights with real deadlines attached. We tell you exactly where you stand — confidentially, before your employer knows anything — and the next move stays yours.
The instrument
Know your deadlines
- to file most FEHA claims with the California Civil Rights Department
- 3 years
- to file most federal claims with the EEOC
- 300 days
- for most California wage and hour claims
- 3–4 years
What we handle
Where we stand in
Wrongful termination and retaliation
Terminations that follow a complaint, a leave, or a protected disclosure are rarely coincidences. We reconstruct the timeline.
Discrimination and harassment
FEHA and Title VII claims through the CRD and EEOC, from intake through litigation in state or federal court.
Wage and hour
Misclassification, unpaid overtime, missed breaks and final-pay violations — individually and under PAGA.
Severance and separation
Fixed-fee review of severance and separation terms before you sign, usually within days — and negotiation when the offer is thin.
Executive and equity agreements
Offer letters, equity, change-of-control and clawback terms, read the way the company’s lawyers meant them.
NDA and non-compete review
California voids most non-competes outright. We tell you which parts of the paperwork actually bind you — and which are posture.
Review to resolution
What a confidential review looks like
Confidential review
You tell us what happened; we date-check every deadline that could apply and tell you plainly whether there is a case, a negotiation, or nothing to pursue. Your employer is not contacted and is never told you called.
Strategy
Evidence, leverage and goals, mapped in writing: what a claim is worth, what a negotiated exit looks like, and what each path costs — including staying put with your rights documented.
Negotiation or claim
Most matters resolve by negotiation — severance, settlement, corrected pay. When they don’t, we file with the CRD, the EEOC or in court, and litigate like we mean it.
Employee-side litigators
Your advocates
Clara Foltz
Partner
Clara has litigated employee-side cases in California for sixteen years, including trials in San Francisco Superior Court and the Northern District of California. She is admitted in California and speaks plainly about odds, deadlines and leverage.
Louis Brandeis
Partner
Louis leads the firm’s wage-and-hour and whistleblower practice. In fourteen years on the employee side he has recovered unpaid wages for workers from line cooks to staff engineers, and briefed retaliation appeals in the Ninth Circuit. He is admitted in California and the Northern District of California.
In their words
From people who pushed back
“They mapped my deadlines in the first call and negotiated a severance three times the opening offer — while I was still employed.”
“I was told my equity was gone. It wasn’t. One letter and two weeks later, the company corrected it.”
“The review was honest enough to tell me I didn’t have a case — and exactly what to document if it happened again. I came back a year later and we won.”
Straight answers
Asked confidentially, answered plainly
Can I talk to you while I still work there?
Yes. Consulting a lawyer is protected activity, the conversation is privileged, and your employer is not told. Many of our clients come to us before anything has formally happened.
What deadlines apply to my situation?
The big ones: generally three years to file with the California Civil Rights Department for FEHA claims, 300 days with the EEOC for federal claims, and three to four years for most wage claims. Some are much shorter — which is why we date-check every intake first.
I was offered severance and given a week to sign. What now?
Don’t sign yet. A deadline that short is a negotiating posture, not a legal limit. We review the agreement and what you may be giving up — often for a fixed fee — before the window closes.
What if they retaliate for me speaking up?
Retaliation for a complaint, a wage claim or a protected disclosure is itself unlawful — and often easier to prove than the original problem. Document dates and keep copies at home; we will tell you exactly what to preserve.
My contract has a non-compete. Am I stuck?
Almost certainly not. California law voids most non-competes, and employers were required to notify affected workers. NDAs and non-solicit terms need a closer read — bring the paperwork and we will separate what binds you from what is bluff.
What does this cost?
It depends on the matter: severance and contract reviews are usually a fixed fee quoted up front; discrimination, retaliation and wage cases are usually contingency — no fee unless you recover. Either way, you know the arrangement before we start.
Visit
Find us at Embarcadero Center
Address
One Embarcadero Center, Suite 2210San Francisco, CA 94111USHours
- Monday–Friday: 09:00–18:00