Working With an Employment Lawyer in California
Working With an Employment Lawyer in California: What to Expect After You Hire
Choosing a lawyer gets a lot of attention. What happens next gets almost none — which is strange, because the working relationship lasts far longer than the decision that started it.
Most people have never been a party to a legal dispute before. They do not know what the pace feels like, which decisions are theirs, or what settlement negotiation actually looks like from the inside. That gap is where much of the frustration comes from, and a lot of it is avoidable.
This is a guide to the part after the hiring.
Quick Answer
After you hire an employment lawyer in California, expect three things. The pace is uneven — bursts of activity separated by quiet stretches where nothing visible happens. Your job is disclosure and availability — complete information early, prompt responses later. Many workplace disputes resolve through settlement negotiation rather than trial, and the decision whether to accept or reject a settlement offer ultimately belongs to the client.
Your Job Is Disclosure, Not Strategy
The single most useful thing you can do is tell your lawyer everything early, including the parts that make you look bad.
The write-up you got two years ago. The angry email you sent. The job you have not mentioned. The text message you regret. None of these necessarily matters much on its own. All of them matter far more if the other side produces them and your lawyer is seeing them for the first time.
A lawyer who knows about a bad fact from day one can plan around it. A lawyer who learns about it in the middle of a negotiation has less time to understand it, explain it, and account for it in the strategy.
What to Do
- Write down everything, including the unflattering parts, before your first working session
- Say it out loud even if you are embarrassed
- When something new surfaces later, report it promptly rather than hoping it stays buried
The Pace Will Surprise You
Legal matters do not move at the pace of the emotions that caused them. Yours may feel urgent every single day. The process will not necessarily reflect that.
Expect an uneven rhythm: an intense early period of information gathering, then a quiet stretch, then a burst of activity, followed by more waiting. Weeks can pass with nothing visible happening while your lawyer waits on the other side, a third party, or a scheduling calendar outside anyone's control.
Silence is not the same as neglect, but you should not have to guess which one you are experiencing. Ask at the outset how often you will hear from your legal team when nothing is happening. A regular no-news check-in can prevent a lot of unnecessary anxiety.
Which Decisions Are Yours?
This is worth clarifying explicitly at the start because assumptions differ.
Broadly, lawyers handle many strategic and procedural decisions while consulting with the client about the objectives of the representation. Under Rule 1.2 of the California Rules of Professional Conduct, a lawyer must abide by the client's decision whether to settle a matter.
Ask your lawyer directly: "Who has final say on whether we accept an offer, and where is that addressed in the engagement agreement?" Understanding the answer before negotiations begin is much easier than trying to resolve the question under time pressure.
How Settlement Negotiation Actually Unfolds
Many workplace disputes resolve through negotiation rather than a trial verdict. If your experience with litigation comes mostly from television, the actual process may feel unfamiliar.
A rough outline looks like this:
- 1. Preparation: Your lawyer organizes the facts, documents, legal issues, and overall position before approaching the other side.
- 2. Opening position: One side communicates a proposed position or demand. The first number in either direction is rarely the final number.
- 3. Response and exchange: The other side responds, sometimes aggressively or dismissively. An opening response should not automatically be treated as a prediction of the final outcome.
- 4. Information exchange: Each side learns more about the other's position, evidence, risks, and priorities.
- 5. Structured negotiation: Some disputes reach mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution. The California Courts guide to resolving disputes outside court explains mediation and other ADR processes.
- 6. Resolution or escalation: The parties reach an agreement, or the matter proceeds to the next stage.
Three Things That Can Feel Counterintuitive
- An aggressive early response from the other side does not necessarily tell you how the matter will ultimately resolve.
- Movement can be slow and then sudden. A long quiet period may be followed by rapid negotiations.
- Your lawyer may sometimes recommend a course of action that differs from your initial instinct. Ask for the reasoning before deciding.
Evaluating an Offer: The Parts That Are Not Legal
When an offer arrives, your lawyer can assess its legal dimensions. Other considerations are personal, and it helps to think about them before you are facing a response deadline.
- Certainty versus possibility: A definite outcome now compared with an uncertain outcome later.
- Time and attention: Continuing a dispute can require months of additional attention that could otherwise go toward work, family, or moving forward.
- Emotional cost: Some people tolerate an extended dispute well. Others find that continuing keeps them tied to a difficult period of their working life.
- What you actually wanted: Money, a reference, a corrected record, another term, or simply closure. Your priorities may change as the matter progresses.
Any settlement offer may come with additional terms. Ask your lawyer to explain what each provision means for you before making a decision. Do not sign an agreement you do not understand.
Costs Accumulate Whether You Are Watching or Not
Even under a contingency arrangement where attorney fees depend on the outcome, litigation costs and attorney fees are separate concepts. How costs are handled depends on the engagement agreement.
Ask how you can obtain an accounting of costs during the representation rather than waiting until the end. If a fee dispute later arises, the State Bar of California explains its fee arbitration process, which is designed to help resolve attorney-client fee disputes.
When the Relationship Is Not Working
Sometimes a lawyer-client relationship does not work as expected. It helps to distinguish a normal quiet period from a genuine communication problem.
Normal
- Weeks with no substantive update during a known waiting period
- Being told that your position has weaknesses
- Slow movement caused by the other side or court scheduling
- Work being delegated appropriately to associates, paralegals, or other staff
Worth Raising
- Repeatedly unreturned messages without an explanation
- Never being told the plan or reasoning behind major developments
- Repeatedly missed commitments your lawyer made to you
- Not knowing who is responsible for handling your matter
Raise concerns directly and in writing first. Many communication problems can be resolved by clarifying expectations. If concerns remain, you can seek a second opinion or consider changing representation, although the practical and financial consequences of switching can vary.
You can also verify any California attorney's license status and public information through the State Bar's Attorney Search.
Five Things to Do in the First Month
- 1. Confirm who makes the final decision on settlement
- 2. Confirm the expected communication cadence, including during quiet periods
- 3. Disclose important facts, including unfavorable ones, while the matter is still new
- 4. Ask what documents you should preserve and how
- 5. Ask what, if anything, in your situation is time-sensitive
If you have not hired anyone yet, our guide to the questions to ask before hiring a California employment firm covers the step before this one.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Happens After You Hire an Employment Lawyer in California?
Expect an intensive early period of information gathering, followed by an uneven rhythm of quiet stretches and bursts of activity. Your role shifts from telling your story to providing complete information, preserving relevant materials, and responding promptly when your legal team needs something.
Who Decides Whether to Accept a Settlement Offer?
Under California's Rules of Professional Conduct, the lawyer must abide by the client's decision whether to settle a matter. Your lawyer can advise you about the risks and benefits of an offer, but the decision whether to accept it belongs to the client.
How Long Does a California Workplace Dispute Take?
Timelines vary widely depending on the type and complexity of the dispute, the parties' willingness to negotiate, whether litigation is filed, discovery, court schedules, and other factors. Ask your lawyer for a realistic range based on your particular matter.
Why Has My Employment Lawyer Not Contacted Me in Weeks?
Quiet periods can occur while waiting on the other side, third parties, scheduling, or other developments. Agreeing on an update cadence early can help distinguish an expected waiting period from a communication problem.
What Should I Consider When Evaluating a Settlement Offer?
In addition to your lawyer's legal assessment, consider certainty versus continued uncertainty, the time and emotional cost of continuing, and what outcome matters most to you. Ask your lawyer to explain each settlement term and how it would affect you before deciding.
Can I Change Employment Lawyers in the Middle of a Case?
Clients can generally change representation, but the practical and financial consequences depend on the engagement agreement, the stage of the matter, and other circumstances. Consider discussing concerns with your current lawyer and obtaining advice about the consequences before making a change.
How Do I Check If My California Lawyer Is in Good Standing?
The State Bar of California maintains a public Attorney Search where you can review an individual attorney's license status and other public information. Search the attorney's name rather than relying only on the firm's website.
About JLG Lawyers
JLG Lawyers represents employees in California workplace matters, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, and wage and hour disputes. The firm does not represent employers.
Founder Michael Jaurigue and Senior Managing Attorney Sean Shahabi both have prior employer-defense experience before moving to employee-side representation. That background helps inform how the firm evaluates employer arguments and approaches negotiation.
Learn more about the attorneys on the JLG Lawyers team, or contact JLG Lawyers for a free consultation.
This article is general information about working with legal counsel. It is not legal advice and does not address the law applicable to any particular situation. For advice about your circumstances, consult a licensed California attorney.