Professional Exit Strategies
Exit Strategy Representation for Employed and Recently Separated Professionals
An exit strategy is not about walking away quietly and it is not about general job advice. It is about recognizing the moment when an employment relationship is actively deteriorating or has just ended, identifying the leverage that exists in that moment, and using it to secure a confidential, financially meaningful, and reputation protected resolution.
MKO represents professionals who are still employed but being pushed out, managed out, placed on performance plans, pressured around medical leave or accommodations, sidelined after complaints, or presented with severance or separation agreements that do not reflect the employer’s real exposure. We also represent individuals who were recently terminated or forced to resign where the timing, justification, or process strongly suggests retaliation, discrimination, or pretext. In both scenarios, the objective is the same: aggressively pursue a financial resolution while leverage still exists.
Many exit strategy matters arise from uncomfortable workplace facts that employers would prefer not to defend. These include disability or medical leave issues under FMLA or ADA, pregnancy and parental leave conflicts, age based targeting, retaliation after HR or ethics complaints, whistleblower activity, race or gender based disparities, religious accommodation disputes, and sudden performance scrutiny following protected conduct. In executive and senior professional roles, exit strategies frequently also involve noncompete enforcement risk, non-disparagement provisions, internal investigations, and reputational consequences that can follow a poorly handled separation.
Our role is to assess leverage, control timing, and force a negotiation posture that reflects the employer’s actual legal and practical risk. That means intervening before separation decisions harden, reframing performance plans that function as termination runways, renegotiating severance and restrictive covenants, and pushing for outcomes that go well beyond what employers initially offer. Where separation has already occurred, it means acting quickly to preserve leverage and drive an aggressive financial resolution while facts are fresh and exposure is still acute.
Exit strategy representation is strategic, not reactive. It is most effective when initiated before termination or immediately after separation. As time passes, leverage erodes, narratives solidify, and employers become more entrenched. Early, decisive action materially improves outcomes and reduces downside risk.
MKO’s exit strategy work is pre litigation by design. Nothing is filed unless and until it becomes necessary. Employers often prefer confidential resolution over litigation, agency filings, or prolonged disputes that create internal disruption, morale damage, leadership distraction, and workforce instability. Even aside from direct financial cost, these situations are extraordinarily painful inside an organization, affecting employee goodwill, retention, recruiting, and public perception. We use that reality to our clients’ advantage.
The objective is a controlled outcome that prioritizes money, confidentiality, reputational protection, and clean separation terms that allow clients to move forward without lingering exposure or professional harm. Every exit strategy begins with a candid assessment of facts, leverage, and goals. Some matters support highly aggressive financial demands. Others call for targeted negotiation around severance, benefits, restrictive covenants, and narrative control. In all cases, the strategy is intentional, realistic, and designed to extract the strongest result the facts will support.
If you are being pushed out, placed on a pretextual performance track, pressured around medical or family leave, retaliated against after raising concerns, or recently separated under questionable circumstances, timing matters. The earlier leverage is asserted, the stronger the outcome tends to be.
Contact MKO to determine whether an exit strategy makes sense in your situation and what a controlled, aggressive resolution could look like before options narrow.
Employment Consultations
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Employment Lawyer Consultations
After dispensing thousands of legal consultations to potential clients, I can easily say it’s my favorite part of my practice. My guidance, even if I can’t accept them as a client, helps people immeasurably in figuring out what to do and how to move forward with their lives. I make a measurable impact every single day on many people. Who else can say that about their job? I love it. Call me. – Michael Kraemer, Esq.
412.301.2700
Professional Severance and Exit Strategy Lawyers
MKO’s exit strategy practice is built around one central objective: securing aggressive, financially significant resolutions for professionals facing separation from employment, while keeping the process confidential and controlled. Employers rarely offer fair or meaningful severance voluntarily, particularly when they believe an employee will simply accept what is placed in front of them. Exit strategy representation exists to change that dynamic.
We represent clients at the moment where leverage is highest, before termination, during managed exits, or immediately after separation, and we use that leverage to force serious financial negotiations. These matters are not about symbolic wins or procedural exercises. They are about extracting money, protecting future career prospects, and ensuring that the separation does not follow the client indefinitely through references, internal narratives, or restrictive covenants.
In many cases, the employer’s risk is not limited to potential legal liability. It includes reputational exposure, internal disruption, leadership distraction, employee morale damage, and the ripple effects that follow when a termination is mishandled or appears retaliatory or discriminatory. Employers are acutely sensitive to these risks, particularly where protected conduct or protected characteristics are involved. Our role is to translate that risk into leverage and convert it into a meaningful financial outcome.
Severance negotiations handled without strategy almost always leave money on the table. Employers anchor low, draft agreements to protect themselves, and rely on imbalance of information and urgency to close matters quickly. MKO intervenes to reset that posture. We analyze the employer’s exposure, identify pressure points, and pursue separation terms that reflect the true value of the claims and risks at issue. This frequently results in severance packages that are materially higher than initial offers, with improved benefits continuation, neutral or favorable reference language, and narrowed or eliminated post employment restrictions.
Confidentiality is central to every exit strategy we handle. Most employers strongly prefer to resolve these matters quietly rather than invite litigation, agency involvement, or internal fallout. We structure negotiations to preserve confidentiality while still applying maximum pressure behind the scenes. The goal is resolution without spectacle, but with real financial consequence.
Our clients are often high performing professionals, executives, and senior employees who suddenly find themselves targeted, sidelined, or pushed out after raising concerns, requesting accommodations, taking protected leave, or simply becoming inconvenient. Others are presented with severance agreements that underestimate the employer’s risk or overreach with restrictive terms. In both scenarios, the value of the case lies in timing and execution. Delay weakens leverage. Strategic action strengthens it.
Conclusion: Leverage Your Situation For Maximum Value
Exit strategy representation is about taking control of a moment that employers often try to rush or minimize. When handled correctly, that moment can produce a substantial financial recovery, preserve professional reputation, and allow a clean transition to the next opportunity without lingering exposure.
If you are still employed and facing pressure, or if you were recently separated under circumstances that raise serious concerns, the window for leverage is open but not permanent. MKO’s exit strategy practice is designed to move decisively, negotiate aggressively, and resolve matters confidentially on terms that reflect the true stakes involved.
If the situation calls for a serious financial outcome rather than a quiet surrender, an exit strategy may be appropriate.
📲412-301-2700
“Providing you a path forward in your life, career, and recovering the compensation you deserve.™”
MKO is a “boutique firm” which means that we focus on a niche area and offer highly specialized services to clients who are looking for the personal touch within our area of expertise: Employment Law. Boutique law firms are not a general practice or one-stop legal shop, and that’s a good thing. You need one good attorney who knows the ins and outs of the area of law that’s relevant to your case. Look for a law firm that primarily practices the area of law that you need. If that’s all they do, chances are, they do it very well. We see each legal dispute as an opportunity to find a fair and equitable resolution without destroying your reputation, resume, job prospects, income, and if avoidable, not subjecting you, your family, friends, and former coworkers to unnecessary, highly invasive, time consuming, stressful, and ultimately public litigation. MKO, “Providing you a path forward in your life, career, and recovering the compensation you deserve.™” Confidentiality is key, for everyone. Are you a victim? MKO’s employment lawyers are always available for the clients. You can contact us anytime for a case assessment and evaluation.
Ten Reasons You Want MKO As Your Employment Counsel
1. Focused Employment Law Practice
MKO is a “boutique law firm” which means that we concentrate on this niche area and offer highly focused employment law services to clients who are looking for the personal touch. Boutique law firms are not a one-stop legal shop, and that’s a good thing. While a long roster of diverse legal services may look impressive on paper, it’s fairly pointless in practice. You need one good attorney who knows the ins and outs of the area of law that’s relevant to your case. Look for a law firm that only practices in the area of law that you need. If that’s all they do, chances are, they do it very well.
2. Technology Driven & Experts in the Cloud
We provide immediate legal consultations, operate a paperless law firm, use advanced cloud storage, digital signatures, electronic forms, and can review your documents using screen share technology instantaneously. MKO is technologically savvy, nimble, flexible, and efficient.
We are not confined to our office, chained to a desktop computer, or burdened with IT maintenance. Thanks to the smart use of technology we can focus on providing our clients with the best representation possible. By streamlining our practice we can focus on what our clients hire us to do – advocate on their behalf and work diligently toward a desired result.
3. Legal Advice Instantly From The Comfort of Home
MKO can provide superior legal services through adaptive use of new technology and provide the majority of legal assistance while you are comfortably working from your home. It just also happens it's better, easier, and faster for our clients - they really appreciate it. We seamlessly and interactively collaborate with you in a relaxed environment where you have all of your files in your immediate control. We find this is the absolute best way to provide legal advice to our clients on complex legal issues, hands down.
The old style of coming into our office with binders of disjointed and unsearchable paperwork, of which we to organize and figure out on the fly, is incredibly wasteful, time-consuming, inefficient, and not highly productive. Because of our integration with technology, we are ready to work with you on highly intricate matters on a moments notice, no matter where you (or we) are.
4. Discreet When Necessary
While many cases require that we go to court to seek justice, there are a substantial number of disputes that need to be handled discreetly. We see each legal dispute as an opportunity to find a fair and equitable resolution without destroying your reputation, resume, job prospects, income, and if avoidable, not subjecting you, your family, friends, and former coworkers to unnecessary, highly invasive, time consuming, stressful, and ultimately public litigation. MKO, “Providing you a path forward in your life, career, and recovering the compensation you deserve.™”
Confidentiality is key, for everyone.
5. Experience, Professional, & Integrity
Through representing and managing thousands of employment situations, rest assured there is help or a path forward for your situation. For example, Partner Christi Wallace has personally represented over 1000 clients and has managed hundreds more for associates that worked for her in just her first 10 years!
6. Highly Responsive Attorneys
We always get the question, "If I choose to have you represent me, will it be difficult for me to get in touch with you?"
Absolutely not, we even make ourselves available to clients beyond our normal business hours! Further, when you call us your attorney answers, not a secretary who puts you on hold for 20 minutes, then tells you that you can leave a voicemail for your attorney. Besides the MKO office phone number, our clients can contact their attorney via mobile, SMS & texting, business email, and an urgent emergency email. For example, we can often respond to a text message in just a few minutes. Experience a better, faster, and more efficient way to work with an attorney. MKO believes that clients can and should depend on the fact that we’ll respond quickly.
7. Attorneys Available 74+ Hours Per Week
Employment Attorneys are available at least 74 hours per week by phone, email, and text messaging. Don't be fooled by marketing, many law firms are using non-attorney 3rd party answering services and advertising "Phones Answered 24 Hours A Day, 7 Days A Week." We pick up our own phones, respond to our own emails and text messages, and use real attorneys, 74+ hours per week.
M-F 7am-7pm
Sat/Sun 8am-3pm
8. Practical Advice From Seasoned Professionals
MKO strongly believes that every situation is distinctly unique and therefore we must endeavor to find the right solution for that particular issue. Because we are a boutique employment law firm, we strive to find unique and innovation solutions for our clients in every circumstance. We take action when necessary, put together deals when possible, and work with our clients so we can be creative and find smart solutions instead of needless litigation. We want to protect your interests now and in the future.
9. Contingency Representation
Contingency Legal Representation is where you do not have to pay your lawyer up front. This is fantastic if you are offered this option. Lawyers and litigation costs are incredibly expensive if you pay hourly. With contingency representation, you are not faced with large legal bills and expenses that are daunting and causes slow downs while waiting for a retainer to be replenished. Further, when you're offering to pay anyone up front and hourly, it seems they'll take almost any case - so long as they are getting paid. Funny how that works. Here's how we help:
- People can afford an attorney. – Without the benefit of contingency, it would be very difficult for a person who was recently separated from their job to afford an employment lawyer.
- MKO only gets paid if there is a recovery. – We put our money where our mouth is, if we don't get a recovery, you don't owe legal fees and costs.
- Contingency representation says something about your case. – Considering MKO only will get paid if there is a recovery, you can assume we like to cases that we believe have merit.
- Helps people can move on with their lives – Instead of racking up debt to pay for legal help, our contingency representation lets you move on with your life as we deal with the legal stuff. This is exactly what MKO stands for, “Providing you a path forward in your life, career, and recovering the compensation you deserve.™"
10. Keeping Costs Low To Focus On Your Case
Our clients understand that their representation is are far more important than an expensive address. Some law firms might be battling an extremely burdensome and large cost overhead. In other words, to survive, they may need to be a "factory firm" or "volume practice" that needs to process a vast amount of cases to be able to afford their superfluous costs, expenses, and overhead. We aggressively keep costs down so we can focus on you.
Don't want to be treated like an account number, a settlement figure, or a wheel that needs to be turned to keep the law firm getting paid? We keep our costs low and use this financial freedom for our clients best interests.
Legal Consultations
Hours Open Every Week
Clients & Cases Managed
Wrongful Termination
We help people fired, or soon to be fired, when they have been treated unfairly, illegally, or unjustly.
Employment Discrimination
Race, religion, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), orientation, disability.
Professional Exit Strategies
Remove yourself from a toxic workplace or help with a job loss. Lawyers give you an exit strategy.
Medical Accommodations
Employees needing physical or mental health/wellness accommodations are protected.
Disability Discrimination
Many health conditions can be considered disabilities and are legally protected including retaliation.
EEOC or PHRC Agencies
Aggressive lawyering in the state and federal agencies can mean quick, quiet, and lucrative resolutions.
Age Discrimination
For those over 40 years old (but older is preferred) that experience bias based on your age.
Sexual Harassment
A range of actions from mild transgressions to sexual abuse or sexual assault. A highly serious offense.
I trusted Mr. Kraemer with a rather difficult period of time for my family, and we came out on top. He is trustworthy and honest, incredibly helpful, and understanding. Five stars aren’t enough! Him and his staff are well experienced, and won’t let up until the truth is known and justice is served. Michael, it’s been a pleasure. I hope I never need your services again! If I do, I will not hesitate to give you a call.
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Halfway to legal help. If you don't get paid, neither do we. All you need to do is call MKO!
Employment Law Ready✔ ™
Michael Kraemer was the only lawyer who took my case and would be the only lawyer I’d rely on. He kept me informed and was very intellectual on the whole subject that my case was revolved around. I give Mr. Kraemer a 10 out of 10 and I would refer him and his associates to anyone who wants a well defined lawyer.
Wrongful Termination & Discrimination Questions
To Ask During Your Free Lawyer Consultation
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=What does an employment discrimination, wrongful termination lawyer do?
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=Do I need an employment lawyer, what options do I have?
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=Can a employment attorney really help my case, even if I still work there?
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=When should I hire an employment law firm?
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=Is discrimination, illegal conduct, and severance negotiations that common?
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=How do you retain an employment attorney and is it really this easy?
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=How do I know when I need an employment lawyer?
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=When should I address discrimination at the office?
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=What is my case worth?
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=Do I have a retaliation, wrongful termination, or discrimination case?
