Are you being denied equity, a bonus, commission, or severance you were promised?
Options that should have vested, a bonus that never came, a severance offer that undersells what you're owed. The firm represents executives and employees across California, Washington, Texas, Nevada and Colorado when the pay they earned doesn't match the deal they were given.
- Unpaid commissions, bonuses, equity, or deferred compensation
- A disputed severance agreement or release
- Noncompete, nonsolicit, confidentiality, or clawback terms
- Retaliation or termination affecting vested or earned compensation
Equity and severance disputes turn on the fine print, grant agreements, plan documents, offer letters, and the promises made along the way. When an employer withholds vested equity, refuses an earned bonus or commission, or hands you a severance agreement to sign under pressure, the right move is to understand the leverage before you sign. The first conversation is private, with no cost or obligation.
What we handle.
Compensation disputes come in a few recurring shapes. The firm reads the documents, values what's at stake, and negotiates, or litigates, from there.
Stock options & RSUs
Disputes over vesting, acceleration, forfeiture on exit, exercise windows, and equity you earned but were denied when you left.
Ask about your caseUnpaid bonuses & commissions
Earned bonuses and commissions withheld at termination, recalculated after the fact, or conditioned on being employed the day they pay out.
Unpaid commissionsSeverance review & negotiation
Before you sign: what the release gives up, what the number should be, and where there is room to negotiate references, timing, and equity.
Severance agreementsExecutive employment contracts
Offer letters, change-of-control terms, non-competes and clawbacks, reviewed before you sign, and enforced when the company doesn't honor them.
Ask about your caseBreach of compensation agreements
When the written deal, a comp plan, a guarantee, a promised grant, is simply not paid, and the employer's explanation doesn't hold up.
Ask about your caseEquity disputes on exit
Forfeiture, clawback, and change-of-control fights at the moment they matter most: the day the equity is supposed to become real.
Ask about your caseWhat may be available.
What a claim can recover depends on the agreement, the facts, and the state. Where a claim succeeds, the outcome often includes:
The equity, bonus, or commission the agreement entitled you to, recovered, or its value where the equity can no longer be delivered.
For severance, a negotiated package that reflects your leverage, often more than the first offer, with terms on references, timing, and equity treatment addressed.
Understanding what a release gives up, and what the law and your documents actually require, before a signature closes the door. See the record →
A firm executives call.
Ackermann & Tilajef has recovered equity and compensation for executives and senior employees and negotiated severance from a position of strength, individual, confidential matters resolved through negotiation and arbitration.
See the recordEquity compensation & severance laws by state.
Deadlines, enforceability, remedies, and the correct filing forum change at the state line. A licensed attorney of the firm leads each state's matters, including Brian Denlinger, admitted in Colorado and Washington.
Common questions.
They gave me a severance agreement and a deadline. Should I sign?
Not before you understand it. A severance release typically gives up your right to sue in exchange for a payment, so the questions are whether the number reflects your leverage, what claims you'd be waiving, and what can still be negotiated (amount, references, timing, equity treatment). Most deadlines have more room than they appear. A quick review tells you where you actually stand before the door closes.
My options were supposed to vest and the company says I forfeited them. Who's right?
It depends on the documents, the grant agreement, the equity plan, and any offer-letter promises control, and they don't always say what the company claims. Vesting schedules, acceleration triggers, exercise windows, and forfeiture terms are frequently misread or misapplied on exit. Reading them against what you were actually told is exactly the analysis this work involves.
Is this only for C-suite executives?
No. Equity, bonus, and commission disputes reach engineers, salespeople, managers, and senior individual contributors, anyone whose real compensation lives in a grant, a plan, or a commission schedule rather than base salary alone. If a meaningful part of your pay was promised and not delivered, it's worth a look.
Is the review private?
Yes. The first conversation is private, with no cost or obligation, and an attorney-client relationship begins only if the firm agrees in writing to represent you. Bring your offer letter, grant and plan documents, comp plan, or the severance agreement; the firm will review what you share and contact you about possible options and next steps.