Laid Off - Release/NDA Question Forum

[Anonymous User]

Anon for obvious reasons.

I was laid off from a biglaw firm recently (Pacific Northwest office). They're asking me to sign an NDA/release in order to receive time on the website (about six weeks) and an extra week of pay. They told me about the layoff months ago (I haven't found another gig yet), but the NDA/release is new. Is this common?

I'm wondering if I should find an attorney to take a look at it before I sign, just to be on the safe side (but that's expensive). Does anyone know what general category of attorney I should seek? Just a general "employment lawyer"?

I have no leverage with them because I need to be on the website for other employers to reference, and I need the firm to attest to my employment when the new employers call for references/conflicts. I don't want any gap on my resume and don't want new employers to know I was asked to leave.

I'm hesitant to sign something that doesn't have an expiration date (it doesn't termination after 5 years, etc., or ever). The monetary consideration is also very low, about a week of pay. I also don't like that the document makes the termination "official" in a way, as opposed to a casual agreement that I'll just leave.

Has anyone been in this position?

[Definitely Not North]

Sorry dude, that really blows. If it were me I would try to leverage this to get the maximum amount of website time to give you the most possible runway to line something else up. Assuming you're not cash strapped, you can even offer to drop the week of pay in exchange for more website time.

[ChickenSalad]

Yeah I’ll echo the guy above. Sorry to hear about that situation. The NDA does present an opportunity to get leverage for more pay or website time (probably the only leverage you have).

Website time costs the firm nothing and I’d think they should be able to extend that without much of an issue. Covid is a difficult time for everyone, moreso when you’re looking for a job. That alone should be reason to extend website time even in the absence of the NDA/release. Asking for more time as consideration for the NDA/release seems like a no brainer.

Is there a reason you’d need a lawyer for this? If it were a non-compete I’d definitely say yes. But an NDA and a general release doesn’t seem to be that big of an issue unless you actually know of claims that you’d be releasing or unless you somehow have very sensitive information and there’s the possibility of violating it and running into issues down the road (which is especially unlikely if you are a junior associate). Maybe if you have a friend who does some employment work you can bounce your ideas off him? Hiring an attorney seems pretty extreme imo

[Anonymous User]

Thank you both. I think this is good advice and makes sense, its good to have other perspectives. I know it could be a lot worse and thankfully my loved ones and I are healthy so I can't complain too much. Definitely sucks though.

[sparty99]

Anon for obvious reasons.

I was laid off from a biglaw firm recently (Pacific Northwest office). They're asking me to sign an NDA/release in order to receive time on the website (about six weeks) and an extra week of pay. They told me about the layoff months ago (I haven't found another gig yet), but the NDA/release is new. Is this common?

I'm wondering if I should find an attorney to take a look at it before I sign, just to be on the safe side (but that's expensive). Does anyone know what general category of attorney I should seek? Just a general "employment lawyer"?

I have no leverage with them because I need to be on the website for other employers to reference, and I need the firm to attest to my employment when the new employers call for references/conflicts. I don't want any gap on my resume and don't want new employers to know I was asked to leave.

I'm hesitant to sign something that doesn't have an expiration date (it doesn't termination after 5 years, etc., or ever). The monetary consideration is also very low, about a week of pay. I also don't like that the document makes the termination "official" in a way, as opposed to a casual agreement that I'll just leave.

Has anyone been in this position?

Why would you need an attorney to review the NDA? Just sign the thing and ask for more website time and pay. I would not even worry about the details of the NDA or the circumstances of your departure. You can simply tell future employers it was because of COVID if it lasts more than 6 weeks which there is a strong likelihood it would.