Executives in a Dispute With a Current or Former Company

An executive in a dispute with a company is usually outnumbered: the company has its documents, its general counsel and its budget. What the executive has is the agreement, the record of what was actually done and the law, which in Texas often favors the individual more than the company's letter suggests. The work is to use those three well and quickly.

The decisions that come first

The documents are read first and read closely: the employment agreement, the equity plan and grant documents, the restrictive covenants, the handbook if it matters, and every communication about the departure or the dispute. Then the deadlines: a non-compete fight can be in court within weeks, a compensation claim has its own limitations period, and a fiduciary allegation may be tied to a transaction already under review. Then the goal. Some executives want to take the new position cleanly, some want to be paid what was promised, and some want the allegation against them answered so decisively that it does not follow them. The strategy follows the goal.

What executives usually need

Discretion, because a public fight with a former employer affects the next position. Direct communication from the lawyer handling the matter, without layers. A realistic view of exposure, including whether the company's indemnification obligations and its directors and officers insurance should be covering the defense. And negotiation that uses the law as its weight: a covenant the company knows is overbroad, a fee provision that cuts both ways, a release that can be traded for payment.

Both sides of the table

Tina Wysk represents executives and other individuals as well as the businesses on the other side of these disputes, in employment agreement, non-compete, trade secret and fiduciary duty matters, in Texas state and federal courts and in arbitration. Knowing how companies build these cases is what lets her defend against them. Shareholder, Hallett & Perrin, P.C., downtown Dallas.