Firings & severance
Terminations, layoffs and severance offers with a deadline. We review the agreement, find what's negotiable and push for it before you sign the release.
- Severance review
- Wrongful termination
- Layoffs
Employment law · Tacoma, WA
Know where you stand before you sign.
We advise employees, executives and small employers across Pierce and King County on firings, severance, discrimination, unpaid wages and non-competes. Your first consultation is free.
How we work
01 — 05
Where a job ends, and what it is worth.
We act for employees and executives, and for small employers who want to get it right. Never for both sides of the same dispute.
Most people call the week something changes: a termination letter, a severance offer with a deadline, a final paycheck that came up short. We check for conflicts first, then tell you plainly where you stand.
See all practice areas- Courts
- Pierce & King County Superior Court · W.D. Wash.
- Agencies
- EEOC · WA Human Rights Commission · L&I
- Deadlines
- Same-day reply when a clock is running
- Since
- 2009 · 1,100+ cases
Plain terms
Before you hire anyone
What you will hear from us in the first call.
01 — The odds
Most employment disputes never reach a courtroom. They end in a negotiated agreement, and whether that agreement is fair is usually decided in the first two weeks.
02 — The advice
If you don't have a claim, we'll say so. If you do, we'll tell you what it's realistically worth and whether it's worth the fight, in writing, before you spend anything.
03 — The cost
Your first consultation is free. Wage and discrimination cases can run on contingency, so you pay nothing unless we recover money for you.
Book a free consultation
Most calls returned the same business day
Process
Swipe · 4 steps
How a case runs.
-
Process
01 / 04
Conflict check
We check before you tell us anything.
Give us names, not details. We run the conflict check first, usually within the hour, so nothing you say can end up on the wrong side of the table.
- Turnaround
- Same business day
- Covers
- The employer, managers and anyone else involved
-
Process
02 / 04
The first 48 hours
A written view, before anything is filed.
We read the letter, the contract and the policies, then send a short written view: what you're owed, what it's worth and what it would cost to get it.
- Delivered
- Within two business days
- Written by
- The attorney who will run your case
-
Process
03 / 04
Negotiation
Prepared as if it's going to court.
Most cases settle. They settle well when the other side can see the file is ready: documents in order, witnesses lined up, damages worked out.
- Settled before trial
- Nine in ten (sample)
- Forums
- EEOC, L&I, Superior Court
-
Process
04 / 04
Resolution
Signed, or heard.
A severance agreement you understand line by line, or a hearing argued by the attorney who took your first call.
- Continuity
- One attorney, start to finish
- Afterwards
- References, unemployment, the next job's contract
Next step
Free · Confidential · No obligation
The first call
is free.
Practice areas
Five kinds of case. One standard.
We stay narrow on purpose: employment law, for the people who do the work and the small businesses that hire them. If your matter belongs with another firm, we'll tell you which one.
The register
Employees · Executives · Employers
-
-
Discrimination & harassment
Pregnancy, disability, age, race and gender, harassment and the retaliation that often follows a complaint. Agency deadlines can be short, so call early.
- Harassment
- Accommodation
- Retaliation
-
Wages & overtime
Unpaid overtime, missed breaks, late final paychecks and workers classed as contractors. Washington law often doubles what's owed, plus fees.
- Overtime
- Final pay
- Misclassification
-
Non-competes & contracts
Offer letters, executive agreements, equity and non-competes, for the person signing and the employer drafting. Many Washington non-competes don't hold up.
- Non-competes
- Executive contracts
- Equity
-
Investigations & whistleblowing
Independent workplace investigations for small employers, and advice for the employee who reported a problem or is being investigated.
- Investigations
- Whistleblowers
- Policies
Fees
Sample fees · in writing
You'll know the price before we start.
-
$650
Flat fee · Severance review
We read the agreement, mark what's negotiable and draft your reply. Credited if you hire us afterwards.
-
33%
Contingency · Wage & discrimination
No fee unless we recover money for you. Costs are explained before you sign anything.
-
$325-450
Hourly · Employers & contracts
Handbooks, investigations and non-competes, estimated up front and billed in six-minute steps.
- Consultation
- The first 30 minutes are free, by phone, video or in person.
- Court costs
- Filing fees and experts at cost, never marked up.
Results
Sample results · 2009-2026
Outcomes we can put in writing.
- Admitted in Washington
- U.S. District Court, W.D. Wash.
- Ninth Circuit
- Consultations in English & Spanish
Executive severance
$410k
Renegotiated for a hospital executive before any claim was filed.
Unpaid overtime
$1.2M
Class settlement for 61 warehouse workers, paid within the year.
Settled before trial
9 in 10
Of our cases since 2009, resolved without going to trial.
Sample results for this demo. Every case is different, and past results don't guarantee a similar outcome.
Reviews
4.9 from 180 reviews (sample)
In their words.
-
5 out of 5 stars
“They told me the first offer was low, and exactly why. The second offer was forty percent higher.”
Maria G.Severance client
Sample review
-
5 out of 5 stars
“I expected a sales pitch. I got a two-page memo and an honest no. I've sent three friends since.”
Daniel K.Consultation
Sample review
-
5 out of 5 stars
“We're a twelve-person company. They fixed our handbook before it turned into a lawsuit, in two weeks.”
Renee T.Employer client
Sample review
Attorneys
Four attorneys · one floor
Four attorneys. Your case keeps one.
Each case is run by one attorney from the first call to the last signature, and whoever answers the phone has already read your file.
-
Dana Rook
Founding partner · Severance
Twenty years in employment law, six of them in-house at a regional hospital system. Negotiates most of the firm's severance agreements.
Admitted: Washington · W.D. Wash.
-
Theo Merritt
Partner · Trials
Has tried more than thirty employment cases to verdict in Pierce and King County. A former deputy prosecutor, and calm in a deposition.
Admitted: Washington · W.D. Wash. · 9th Cir.
-
Priya Natarajan
Attorney · Contracts
Writes non-competes and handbooks that hold up, and reviews the ones that don't. Advises more than forty small Washington employers.
Admitted: Washington · Oregon
-
Luis Ferreira
Attorney · Wages
Runs the firm's wage and overtime cases, many on contingency. Consults in English and Spanish.
Admitted: Washington
“Every client gets a direct line to their attorney. In fifteen years nobody has abused it, and plenty of cases were won because of it.”
- Attorneys
- 4
- Paralegals
- 2
- Languages
- 2
- Open cases per attorney
- 25 max
Contact
Tell us what happened.
The first consultation is free. We check for conflicts before anyone reads the details, and nothing you send is shared.
The office
Pacific Ave · Downtown
Downtown Tacoma, on the fourteenth floor.
- Reach us
- (253) 555-0148 · Text us · hello@rookmerritt.example
- Hours
- Monday to Friday, 8:30am-5:30pm · evening calls by appointment
- Getting here
- Two blocks from the Commerce Street transit center. We validate parking in the Pacific Avenue garage.