What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

Welcome to Our Forums. Once you've registered and logged in, you're primed to talk football, among other topics, with the sharpest and most experienced fantasy players on the internet.

The Lawyer Thread Where We Stop Ruining Other Threads (2 Viewers)

Alright, lawyerguys:

Trying to build a home and getting this permit is turning into a PITA. I'll give a general timeline here with a summary below as I'd like to know how extensive this could end up being.

1.) Original Permit Submittal Date 6/23/14

2.) Comments from city sent to Engineer 7/9/14 (incorrectly instead of the contractor)
3.) Meeting with city to discuss revisions 7/23/14
4.) Revisions sent to city 7/25/14
5.) Phone call and email from contractor to city to request acknowledgement of receipt and initial feedback 8/1/14
6.) Phone call request update from contractor to city 8/5/14 - no response
7.) Email requesting updated from contractor to city 8/7/14 - no response
8.) Phone call requesting update from contractor to city 8/8/14- Spoke with city who indicated that he would have comments in "a day or two"
9.) Phone call requesting update from contractor to city 8/13/14 - no response
10.) Call from my lawyer to his friend who is the municipal judge for this city to give a "nudge" 8/14/14
11.) Phone call from city to contractor requesting materials be dropped off 8/18/14. Response in a couple days
12.) Email response from city to structural engineer (again, incorrectly) with "new comments" 8/21/14


So the entire plans were submitted back in June. They had a total of 5 comments, 3 of which were completely incorrect (i.e., the height of the house is above the limit when in fact it was not, not enough smoke alarms which there were). The main comment had to do with the back of the home exceeding total # of stories that could be visible. Building director drew out a sketch of a retaining wall that would be acceptable. My contractor goes back to engineer and architect, gets the plan resubmitted 2 days later (7/25 above). Yesterday, they finally responded (to the incorrect person again) and once again mentioned the height of the house (incorrectly), now that the building lines and setbacks are wrong because it's listed as the wrong zone (again, incorrect, which was pointed out and acknowledged) and not really any response to the retaining wall issue. Said he will try to meet with the architectural review board and get back in a couple days.

This dept is completely incompetent. My attorney is familiar with this dept and knows how they operate. He has requested to sit down and meet with them to get their attention and get things moving. However, during the last phone call to my contractor, the building inspector stated that "the interference with this project is not helping at all". He's concerned that, if we push too hard too early, they could make this incredibly difficult or may not grant a permit at all.

However, so far, their comments have either been completely wrong (height exceeded when it doesn't, wrong zone when it's not, and a few others) or have been addressed and submitted based on their own recommendations. If I have a sit down meeting with them and my attorney and they decide to make this difficult, what am I potentially looking at here in terms of time and money to get the permit taken care of? Apparently their normal turnaround time is 30-45 days and we are well past that as we aren't really any further than we were the first day we submitted the plans. As the current place we are building has a home that we need to demo, we still need to get a demo permit once this is done (another 3 weeks) and I'm paying a monthly mortgage on a property while waiting for them to push this through.

I'll hang up and listen.
Zoning, Land Use and the like are a nightmare when you have to factor in the "navigating the old boy network" of townies who think they control the world in their little government paid for cubicle.

I always tell my clients you have two choices - kill them with kindness and play as dumb as possible with them as much as possible so that they feel like they are having pity on you OR demand whatever your jurisdiction equate to what we would call a Zoning Determination. Zoning and construction officers have to give them in writing and those decisions can be appealed to the full board in a public hearing.

The being nice one is usually a lot cheaper and in the end quicker.

 
Anyone ever done a motion for additional findings that they'd be willing to share with me?
Can you ask that in English?
Well it's done now, but I was wondering if anyone had done a "Motion for Additional Findings" that they would be willing to send me.
lol. I meant what was the motion. But I realize its a federal motion. I dont do nearly enough federal to have something like that handy.

 
Court got a couple of things wrong, left a couple of important things out. This is state court and our state appellate court has made it clear that they want this motion done before an appeal. :shrug:

 
Alright, lawyerguys:

Trying to build a home and getting this permit is turning into a PITA. I'll give a general timeline here with a summary below as I'd like to know how extensive this could end up being.

1.) Original Permit Submittal Date 6/23/14

2.) Comments from city sent to Engineer 7/9/14 (incorrectly instead of the contractor)
3.) Meeting with city to discuss revisions 7/23/14
4.) Revisions sent to city 7/25/14
5.) Phone call and email from contractor to city to request acknowledgement of receipt and initial feedback 8/1/14
6.) Phone call request update from contractor to city 8/5/14 - no response
7.) Email requesting updated from contractor to city 8/7/14 - no response
8.) Phone call requesting update from contractor to city 8/8/14- Spoke with city who indicated that he would have comments in "a day or two"
9.) Phone call requesting update from contractor to city 8/13/14 - no response
10.) Call from my lawyer to his friend who is the municipal judge for this city to give a "nudge" 8/14/14
11.) Phone call from city to contractor requesting materials be dropped off 8/18/14. Response in a couple days
12.) Email response from city to structural engineer (again, incorrectly) with "new comments" 8/21/14


So the entire plans were submitted back in June. They had a total of 5 comments, 3 of which were completely incorrect (i.e., the height of the house is above the limit when in fact it was not, not enough smoke alarms which there were). The main comment had to do with the back of the home exceeding total # of stories that could be visible. Building director drew out a sketch of a retaining wall that would be acceptable. My contractor goes back to engineer and architect, gets the plan resubmitted 2 days later (7/25 above). Yesterday, they finally responded (to the incorrect person again) and once again mentioned the height of the house (incorrectly), now that the building lines and setbacks are wrong because it's listed as the wrong zone (again, incorrect, which was pointed out and acknowledged) and not really any response to the retaining wall issue. Said he will try to meet with the architectural review board and get back in a couple days.

This dept is completely incompetent. My attorney is familiar with this dept and knows how they operate. He has requested to sit down and meet with them to get their attention and get things moving. However, during the last phone call to my contractor, the building inspector stated that "the interference with this project is not helping at all". He's concerned that, if we push too hard too early, they could make this incredibly difficult or may not grant a permit at all.

However, so far, their comments have either been completely wrong (height exceeded when it doesn't, wrong zone when it's not, and a few others) or have been addressed and submitted based on their own recommendations. If I have a sit down meeting with them and my attorney and they decide to make this difficult, what am I potentially looking at here in terms of time and money to get the permit taken care of? Apparently their normal turnaround time is 30-45 days and we are well past that as we aren't really any further than we were the first day we submitted the plans. As the current place we are building has a home that we need to demo, we still need to get a demo permit once this is done (another 3 weeks) and I'm paying a monthly mortgage on a property while waiting for them to push this through.

I'll hang up and listen.
Zoning, Land Use and the like are a nightmare when you have to factor in the "navigating the old boy network" of townies who think they control the world in their little government paid for cubicle.

I always tell my clients you have two choices - kill them with kindness and play as dumb as possible with them as much as possible so that they feel like they are having pity on you OR demand whatever your jurisdiction equate to what we would call a Zoning Determination. Zoning and construction officers have to give them in writing and those decisions can be appealed to the full board in a public hearing.

The being nice one is usually a lot cheaper and in the end quicker.
This was the advice from my builder as well and why he's been hesitant to use legal leverage and has been overly nice in his dealings. But, unfortunately, that route isn't getting us anywhere. We'll give it 2 more days and then we'll be going that latter route. Any experience with how long/expensive that can be in a general sense?

 
Yankee, you can sometimes get an SJ decision that goes your way that nevertheless fails to make the adequate findings of fact to support the judgment.
I've never heard of the motion before. And it seems weird in the context of a MSJ since the court grants one when it finds that there is no question of material fact.

 
I have to file these in conjunction with reasonableness hearings on covenant judgments. Not all that unusual.

 
Court got a couple of things wrong, left a couple of important things out. This is state court and our state appellate court has made it clear that they want this motion done before an appeal. :shrug:
Ah. I will admit I've never been in that position.
 
Yankee, you can sometimes get an SJ decision that goes your way that nevertheless fails to make the adequate findings of fact to support the judgment.
In many cases, my client was happy to win the case on sj, but wanted the court to make specific findings that they are upstanding citizens and the other side is an ###hole.

 
Alright, lawyerguys:

Trying to build a home and getting this permit is turning into a PITA. I'll give a general timeline here with a summary below as I'd like to know how extensive this could end up being.

1.) Original Permit Submittal Date 6/23/14

2.) Comments from city sent to Engineer 7/9/14 (incorrectly instead of the contractor)
3.) Meeting with city to discuss revisions 7/23/14
4.) Revisions sent to city 7/25/14
5.) Phone call and email from contractor to city to request acknowledgement of receipt and initial feedback 8/1/14
6.) Phone call request update from contractor to city 8/5/14 - no response
7.) Email requesting updated from contractor to city 8/7/14 - no response
8.) Phone call requesting update from contractor to city 8/8/14- Spoke with city who indicated that he would have comments in "a day or two"
9.) Phone call requesting update from contractor to city 8/13/14 - no response
10.) Call from my lawyer to his friend who is the municipal judge for this city to give a "nudge" 8/14/14
11.) Phone call from city to contractor requesting materials be dropped off 8/18/14. Response in a couple days
12.) Email response from city to structural engineer (again, incorrectly) with "new comments" 8/21/14


So the entire plans were submitted back in June. They had a total of 5 comments, 3 of which were completely incorrect (i.e., the height of the house is above the limit when in fact it was not, not enough smoke alarms which there were). The main comment had to do with the back of the home exceeding total # of stories that could be visible. Building director drew out a sketch of a retaining wall that would be acceptable. My contractor goes back to engineer and architect, gets the plan resubmitted 2 days later (7/25 above). Yesterday, they finally responded (to the incorrect person again) and once again mentioned the height of the house (incorrectly), now that the building lines and setbacks are wrong because it's listed as the wrong zone (again, incorrect, which was pointed out and acknowledged) and not really any response to the retaining wall issue. Said he will try to meet with the architectural review board and get back in a couple days.

This dept is completely incompetent. My attorney is familiar with this dept and knows how they operate. He has requested to sit down and meet with them to get their attention and get things moving. However, during the last phone call to my contractor, the building inspector stated that "the interference with this project is not helping at all". He's concerned that, if we push too hard too early, they could make this incredibly difficult or may not grant a permit at all.

However, so far, their comments have either been completely wrong (height exceeded when it doesn't, wrong zone when it's not, and a few others) or have been addressed and submitted based on their own recommendations. If I have a sit down meeting with them and my attorney and they decide to make this difficult, what am I potentially looking at here in terms of time and money to get the permit taken care of? Apparently their normal turnaround time is 30-45 days and we are well past that as we aren't really any further than we were the first day we submitted the plans. As the current place we are building has a home that we need to demo, we still need to get a demo permit once this is done (another 3 weeks) and I'm paying a monthly mortgage on a property while waiting for them to push this through.

I'll hang up and listen.
Zoning, Land Use and the like are a nightmare when you have to factor in the "navigating the old boy network" of townies who think they control the world in their little government paid for cubicle.

I always tell my clients you have two choices - kill them with kindness and play as dumb as possible with them as much as possible so that they feel like they are having pity on you OR demand whatever your jurisdiction equate to what we would call a Zoning Determination. Zoning and construction officers have to give them in writing and those decisions can be appealed to the full board in a public hearing.

The being nice one is usually a lot cheaper and in the end quicker.
This was the advice from my builder as well and why he's been hesitant to use legal leverage and has been overly nice in his dealings. But, unfortunately, that route isn't getting us anywhere. We'll give it 2 more days and then we'll be going that latter route. Any experience with how long/expensive that can be in a general sense?
My initial retainer for a zoning board meeting is 4 grand and I am on the cheap side for the area. You have to notice everyone within 200 feet (again, all New Jersey so your rules may vary) and the notice has to be published in a newspaper and the hearing calendar is entirely up to the board chairman, so if you annoy the old boys the chairman can just decide to carry a hearing for some borderline real reason that they normally wouldn't use and you can't really do anything about it, so you could end up going to more than one meeting. From start to finish on a good appliication with no problems you are usually looking at a 3-4 month process depending on the fullness of the township calendar for land use applications. Some tonws are at this moment booking November dates - so they are two months behind to begin with.

 
Yankee, you can sometimes get an SJ decision that goes your way that nevertheless fails to make the adequate findings of fact to support the judgment.
In many cases, my client was happy to win the case on sj, but wanted the court to make specific findings that they are upstanding citizens and the other side is an ###hole.
Ah yes. The dismissal isn't good enough type of client. They won't be satisfied with your services until, along with their dismissal, the judge issues an order requiring the other party to formally and publicly issue an apology (even better when the other side is the "state"). Those clients are fun.

 
I'm representing a young man charged with carrying a concealed weapon. They had him cold and charged him with the felony, but he's got no real record to speak of. Still, it's a gun crime and those are often tough to bargain with this particular prosecutor's office. We make a deal that if he pleads guilty he'll receive no further jail at time of sentencing. So, all told, he's gonna do about 80 days in the county jail. Good deal for him as he was adamant that he'd rather go to prison than do probation.

So I stress to him at his plea that when all is said and done -- as long as he behaves himself until sentencing -- he'll do 80 days. 80 days. You'll do 80 days. 80. Eight. Zero.

Today I get the pre-sentence report and recommendation from the probation department. During his pre-sentence interview the probation officer asked him how much time in jail he though would be fair in this case. My guy's answer? "How about six months."

I read on and there's a copy of a pre-sentence report/rec from his earlier case. Something involving joyriding in a relative's car or something. He takes the car but lets his buddy drive. Cops get behind them, they freak out, crash the car and start running. The cops catch up to the buddy. While they're talking to him on the sidewalk they note that his cell phone keeps ringing and ringing and ringing. The same guy keeps calling over and over again. Officer asks for permission to answer the phone and the buddy tells him to go ahead. Officer answers: "Hello?" My guy: "Hey! Did you get caught!"

Can't make this stuff up.

 
I'm representing a young man charged with carrying a concealed weapon. They had him cold and charged him with the felony, but he's got no real record to speak of. Still, it's a gun crime and those are often tough to bargain with this particular prosecutor's office. We make a deal that if he pleads guilty he'll receive no further jail at time of sentencing. So, all told, he's gonna do about 80 days in the county jail. Good deal for him as he was adamant that he'd rather go to prison than do probation.

So I stress to him at his plea that when all is said and done -- as long as he behaves himself until sentencing -- he'll do 80 days. 80 days. You'll do 80 days. 80. Eight. Zero.

Today I get the pre-sentence report and recommendation from the probation department. During his pre-sentence interview the probation officer asked him how much time in jail he though would be fair in this case. My guy's answer? "How about six months."

I read on and there's a copy of a pre-sentence report/rec from his earlier case. Something involving joyriding in a relative's car or something. He takes the car but lets his buddy drive. Cops get behind them, they freak out, crash the car and start running. The cops catch up to the buddy. While they're talking to him on the sidewalk they note that his cell phone keeps ringing and ringing and ringing. The same guy keeps calling over and over again. Officer asks for permission to answer the phone and the buddy tells him to go ahead. Officer answers: "Hello?" My guy: "Hey! Did you get caught!"

Can't make this stuff up.
lol.

My best friend is a criminal guy. Throughout the state. So when he is going to be in my county we try to hook up if we can. One day I had family motion he had arraignment/PTI hearing. I got done early so I went to the criminal court to wait for him. Something similar happened to him in open court. Thought he was putting through a simple plea deal but the client wasn't there - he was in the county lockup being brought up to another courtroom to answer other charges. That does ruin your day.

 
FWIW my rule 52 motion for additional/amended findings was after a bench trial and written decision from the court. My state supreme court has made it clear that best practice is to make a rule 52 motion to ask for the findings we think are supported. If the trial court grants that motion, even in part, it can amend the judgment to comply with the new findings. Basically, I might get lucky and the trial court might reverse itself, if it believes some or all of my changes to the judgment are warranted.

Anyway, whether granted or not, we can still appeal up.

 
Good luck Thorn. That process sounds a little like when they make you file a motion to remove a judge from a case .... with the judge you're trying to remove from the case.

Bittersweet day in DocGonzo Land today.

Bad news: Just left a status conference where the best deal I'm going to be able to get for my client still puts him at risk of up to 20 years in prison. He was looking at 80, and he's only 21, so a max of 20 is a good deal. But still. 20 years in prison is on the table and, man, that ain't nothing. Hopefully I can convince the judge to sentence him on the low end of the minimum guidelines and the DOC will set him free after a few years. It's a non-violent situation and as long as he behaves himself inside the DOC will probably be quick to release him as soon as he serves his minimum. Trick now is going to be to get that minimum as low in the guidelines range as possible.

Good news: We settled a civil rights case related to a tasing today and we did it without having to file suit. My co-counsel and I won one of these late last year against a different municipality. That one made the news and a guy a city over who had recently been tased read it and contacted us. We signed him up and sent a demand letter and draft complaint to the insurance carrier. Last time they pretty much ignored our demand letter and we ended up with 3.5 years of litigation and a bunch of attorneys billing a bunch of hours -- just about all of which they eventually had to pay. This time they decided to talk to us pre-litigation and we were able to make a deal. I really like this kid and it felt awesome to call him up and tell him how much money we're about to put in his pocket. They had no business tasing him, and since he was acquitted of the trumped up charges they brought to justify it I think they figured it might be best to get this one over with early.

Now I get to have a nice IPA and/or bourbon to celebrate and then get ready for a jury pick in the morning. The fun never stops...

 
Looks like I get to fight over commissions owed to me as I leave my present company. Fun. Since I'm in CA, and the state looks at commissions as wages with respect to Labor law, my amateur counsel opinion is I think I'm in good shape. The company's standard stance is that you must be with the company for a commission to be deemed "earned". Not that the customer has paid, not that the software's been installed, etc. It's a golden handcuff to force people to think twice about leaving. We're talking deals I may have sold a year ago, and there is an elongated payout schedule. Most of our commissions are paid 50% the following month and the remaining 50% spread over the next year. Some have been spread for as long as 3 years though. Here are some relevant sections of the Compensation document (from 2013, no document was sent or signed for 2014).

"At all times, all XYZ policies and procedures are subject to applicable federal, state and/or local laws.

Requirements and Guidelines for Payment of Commissions

In order for an individual to earn and receive commissions, the following requirements and guidelines shall apply:

1. Commissions for each month are only earned when the requirements set forth in this document and in the attached Guidelines as applicable separately to each individual role are met. Further, in any event, commissions are not deemed earned until the end of such month, and the individual is employed on the pay date. Commissions are generally payable on the 15th of the month following that month in which they are recorded. (actually just first payment)

8. Commission payments displayed for future months are for illustrative purposes only and are not considered earned."

Hopefully I can get this done without Counsel, but I have a top Employment Law guy in LA if I need one. Any thoughts on this lovely situation? Somehow the company didn't even send out a compensation document for us to sign in 2014 - does that help my case or is it a non-factor? I read that they face having to pay my daily rate of pay for up to 30 days if they fail to pay me what's owed within 72 hours of my last day upon resigning. Hopefully that's additional leverage. I made them boatloads. Pissed that they are not coming correct. Fully expect to get shafted with vested equity too.

 
All you can do without your mouthpiece is to rant, rave, and stomp your feet while they simply refuse to write a check. If you're set on collecting, I'm pretty sure you'll need legal counsel. And, fwiw, I think you have a good case regardless of what the handbook says.

 
Looks like I get to fight over commissions owed to me as I leave my present company. Fun. Since I'm in CA, and the state looks at commissions as wages with respect to Labor law, my amateur counsel opinion is I think I'm in good shape.
In many states, employees suing for unpaid wages are entitled by statute to 2x or 3x the amount determined to be owed, plus atty's fees. Find out if your state has such a statute, and don't be shy in demanding the full amount allowable under the statute. I would demand the full amount payable and note that you're giving them a break by not having counsel, give them a short leash - 5 days or so max - for payment in full. Be aggressive on this, you earned it. Courts don't mess around with this in my experience. If the statute says 2x (or 3x) plus lawyer's fees and expenses, the court has very little discretion and will award it.

 
Looks like I get to fight over commissions owed to me as I leave my present company. Fun. Since I'm in CA, and the state looks at commissions as wages with respect to Labor law, my amateur counsel opinion is I think I'm in good shape.
In many states, employees suing for unpaid wages are entitled by statute to 2x or 3x the amount determined to be owed, plus atty's fees. Find out if your state has such a statute, and don't be shy in demanding the full amount allowable under the statute. I would demand the full amount payable and note that you're giving them a break by not having counsel, give them a short leash - 5 days or so max - for payment in full. Be aggressive on this, you earned it. Courts don't mess around with this in my experience. If the statute says 2x (or 3x) plus lawyer's fees and expenses, the court has very little discretion and will award it.
Great to know - thanks. I'll look it up.
 
Found this..

Albert B. Maggio, Jr.

Of Counsel at CRGO Law

Under California law, an employer is required to pay commisssions to an employee as follows:

1. If there is a commisssion compensation contract between you and your employer, the terms of that contract will generally govern the payment of commissions, specifically whether and when commissions are due in the event of employment termination.

2. If an employer terminates the employment of a commissioned sales rep, the employer must pay the commmissions due at the time of termination.

3. If a commissioned sales rep voluntarily terminated her employment without advance notice to the employer, all commissions that may reasonably be determined are due and owing at the time of such termination must be paid within 72 hours of the termination of employment.

4. If the payment of commission is not yet due at the time of termination because the customer has not yet paid, the commission shall immediately be payable to the salesperson upon the customer's payment.

5. Effective January 1, 2013, all contracts for payment of commissions to an employee for services rendered within the State of California must be in writing and must specify the method by which commissions shall be calculated and paid.

An employer's failure to pay commissions as provided above is actionable and may subect the employer to civil penalties.

Share this Answer

Profile Picture of Stuart Bronstein

Stuart Bronstein

Attorney at Attorney

Albert's reply is excellent. I'd just like to add that if the employer doesn't pay an employee who quits or is laid off everything that is due on time, the employer is also liable to the employee for a penalty of one day's pay for each day payment is delayed, up to 30 days.

If wages vary from time to time, I suggest averaging the amounts paid over the last few months or year to calculate the penalty.

You can take your employer to court - small claims court if the total amount owed is $10,000 or less. But you can also go to the California Department of Labor to adjudicate your case. That generally takes longer, but the labor commissioners know the specific law involved better than most judges, so you are more likely to get all that is owed to you plus the statutory penalty.

Share this Answer

 
Looks like I get to fight over commissions owed to me as I leave my present company. Fun. Since I'm in CA, and the state looks at commissions as wages with respect to Labor law, my amateur counsel opinion is I think I'm in good shape.
In many states, employees suing for unpaid wages are entitled by statute to 2x or 3x the amount determined to be owed, plus atty's fees. Find out if your state has such a statute, and don't be shy in demanding the full amount allowable under the statute. I would demand the full amount payable and note that you're giving them a break by not having counsel, give them a short leash - 5 days or so max - for payment in full. Be aggressive on this, you earned it. Courts don't mess around with this in my experience. If the statute says 2x (or 3x) plus lawyer's fees and expenses, the court has very little discretion and will award it.
Great to know - thanks. I'll look it up.
It looks like there are civil and criminal penalties for failure to pay wages in Cal., so if your commissions are wages under Cal. law, you're in a strong position. Managers generally don't appreciate facing criminal sanctions. Civil penalties can be up to 30 days wages.

http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/howtofilewageclaim.htm

 
So I have two, count them two divorce trials tomorrow. The first is against a pro per litigant who has listed half the parties' ward as witnesses and, based on her exhibits and pleadings, intends to turn this into an episode of divorce court. I've filed a motion in limine to exclude her entire witness list as irrelevant and

everyone of her "exhibits" b/c they are covered in her handwritten arguments and are about 98% hearsay. I intend on asking the judge to immediately instruct her that Arizona is a no fault

state. They will then fight over who gets which dog. It'll be a real hoot. Second trial is a continuation of a previous hearing where we

didn't finish. At issue is whether my client gets

spousal support (it's close) I've been informed if we don't get it she'll be homeless. No pressure there.

Oh yeah and before it all is a quickset hearing where, after my client and the other party got on

me to draft their consent decree at lightning speed and get it lodged, my client, without notifying me, filed an emergency hearing request for reasons unknown to me then blew off the

two consults I set with her this week to try to find out what the hell happened.

I have a feeling Saturday will be a drunken stupor.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Had call with the CEO last night:

1) They are going to pay me all outstanding commissions. Tried to posture by saying that their counsel has said they tried 2 cases in CA recently and won, but they are making the decision to pay me. Yeah right.

2) For those involved in my earlier vested stock posts, as expected they are going to classify me as a "Bad Leaver" and have the right to buy back any exercised stock at original price vs. FMV.

3) They want me to sign a release. I haven't seen it yet but will be evaluating every syllable. I already have an employment agreement where they are protected from me disclosing confidential information, going after customers or recruiting employees. So no need for a release. If they are wanting me to say I agree that no other commissions are due and I will have no further claims there, fine. If they want to have me give up my right to exercise (I have 90 days) now or stop me from speaking about how the vested options were treated I won't sign unless given some reason or consideration to do so.

 
Had call with the CEO last night:

1) They are going to pay me all outstanding commissions. Tried to posture by saying that their counsel has said they tried 2 cases in CA recently and won, but they are making the decision to pay me. Yeah right.

2) For those involved in my earlier vested stock posts, as expected they are going to classify me as a "Bad Leaver" and have the right to buy back any exercised stock at original price vs. FMV.

3) They want me to sign a release. I haven't seen it yet but will be evaluating every syllable. I already have an employment agreement where they are protected from me disclosing confidential information, going after customers or recruiting employees. So no need for a release. If they are wanting me to say I agree that no other commissions are due and I will have no further claims there, fine. If they want to have me give up my right to exercise (I have 90 days) now or stop me from speaking about how the vested options were treated I won't sign unless given some reason or consideration to do so.
Good thought. Make sure your attorney goes over any release you're being asked to sign with a fine-toothed comb. You are under no obligation to sign a release for them to pay you money you're owed in commission if they've already said they'd pay you.

 
Did a document really just get posted here?

Shut it down.

Unrelated, I know BigLaw has plenty of problems, but I don't know how you guys deal with some of the folks sitting across from you.

 
you're releasing unknown contractual claims? what if you find out they owe you more in commissions than you currently believe or that they've been cooking the books?

 
you're releasing unknown contractual claims? what if you find out they owe you more in commissions than you currently believe or that they've been cooking the books?
I think it is reasonable for the employer to get a release for all commissions, since that is the substance of the disputed claim. It seems reasonable under these circumstances that the employer could resolve all wage/commission claims and wash their hands of it. Not sure about all unknown claims unrelated to wages though. Definitely best to have a real lawyer read this thing and advise you.

 
LOL. I like the exact opposite.

Spoke to my counsel. I'm not signing anything. Told them I'm expecting owed commissions on Tuesday (last official day). No benefit in me signing the release.

 
So I'm going to share what the first week of law school has been like for me. I thought that since so many of you were a great resource throughout the process, you might have some interest. If anyone enjoys it, or likes to see the fruit of their help and advice, I can do so again every once in a while. If it is uninteresting or obnoxious and people say so, I won't. That said:

Holy ####. The first week of law school is in the books, with many more to go. I like most of the professor I have, though one is extra awesome and one is a little bit scary, so we will see how that goes.

I have spent more time (I'd say at least 20 hours this week alone) on readings than in the average month or so of undergrad. The quantity isn't that high, but even having taught an undergrad course that was 80% "read 1st amendment SCOTUS opinion, brief facts/issue/rule/holding, dissect and discuss," the amount of time it takes to read a single page is, I would guess, 4 or more times longer than a page of typical undergrad articles or the like for classes. They're interesting stuff though, so I don't much mind. We've already done a couple of the legendary classics (e.g. Pennoyer, Dudley and Stephens) as well as a few that aren't that famous for 1Ls.

For those who know me better, you'd be proud that I managed to not bring up at all my work around the Hobby Lobby case, even when it was the subject of a significant chunk of a class. Being with the same 29 other people all day every day is a pretty strong incentive to (even if you must pretend) always act like you don't get it yet and can use more help. Sometimes that has been absolutely true (WTF Pennoyer, really...) and sometimes it hasn't, but keeping the same face at all times seems like the right move. The culture is very interesting. I'm not sure how much is my school specifically (which it seems is far more laid back than everywhere else) and how much is typical of 1Ls, but it's obvious who the gunners are already. Less obvious who the snipers are (if this is newer than when you were in law school, snipers are the people who outwardly never gun ever, but secretly do all the readings twice, live in office hours, and study their asses off), though I think that might be me.

I really want to do well, not so much for employment (though if at the end of the first year clerking is a real possibility I will be far more intrigued) but to prove to myself that I can do it. Here, where my classmates are a couple other state schools and then 30% small liberal arts college from the NE and then 50% Ivy Leaguers.

The cases are fun to discuss, and the cold-calling is only done by some of the professors and even the ones who do cold call...they don't really seem to be mean about it at all. Maybe that's just the first week, but I've been very pleasantly surprised by the classroom atmosphere and demeanor of the professors.

Bar reviews are awesome (1 after orientation and another already) and the stories people have are wonderful. I am absolutely in a minority here as one who came "straight through" from undergrad. It can be a little intimidating, but it is also fairly impressive in a way.

Now for the bullets:

  • My undergrad courses, completely by accident, set me up very well for law school. Very very well. Biz law, con law, religion and state stuff...all has proven far more useful than I expected. Really pleasantly surprised.
  • Weather out here is all amazing all the time
  • The whole experience is really exciting so far. I'm sure that will wear off, but until it does...wheeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top