Employers who are angry wind up paying more in legal fees. A lot more. This is old news to employment attorneys, but perhaps not to the angry employers themselves. Sidetracked by anger and the idea of chasing “principle,” they may not be listening to what their own attorneys are saying. (I should mention that many employees I’ve run into are angry as well, and I warn them of their own risks).
On several occasions, during seminars and personal discussions, I’ve heard employer-side attorneys acknowledge that angry, “principle”-chasing employers are making financially-unwise decisions, but the attorneys claim (which is true) that it isn’t the attorneys’ fault. On three different occasions, when I heard such an attorney acknowledge that angry employer clients tend to pay large legal fees, the attorney followed up with a statement to this effect: “but hey, I’ve got kids to put through college.”
Why do employer defense attorneys bring up their kids’ college funds when talking about employers who are angry or chasing “principle”? Because angry employers are a treasure-trove for legal fees, that’s why. Angry employers usually extend litigation a lot longer, and pay a lot more legal fees, than do employers who are more objective and rational about the risks they face.
Are you an angry employer? Do you think of your anger as a source of college funds for attorneys’ kids?
WI Employee Rights Lawyer: Severance, Wages, Job Termination, Discrimination 