Margaret Okafor
Founding partner
Twenty-two years in employment litigation, including executive terminations and class actions.
Home / Employment law
Let go? Don’t sign the severance offer yet.
Most employers offer the legal minimum and hope you accept it. In Ontario, many employees are owed months more. We review your package for free and tell you what it should be.
What we help with
We act for employees and executives only. If your employer has a lawyer, you should too.
- Wrongful dismissalFired without cause and without enough notice. Courts often award far more than the Employment Standards Act minimum.
- Severance package reviewWe read the offer, the release and your contract, then tell you in plain numbers what you’re owed.
- Constructive dismissalYour pay, role or hours were cut, or you were pushed out. That can count as being fired.
- Workplace harassment and discriminationClaims under the Ontario Human Rights Code, including at the Human Rights Tribunal.
- Employment contractsBefore you sign a new offer or a non-compete, find out what you’re giving up.
- Unpaid wages, overtime and commissionsMoney you earned and didn’t get, including bonuses and stock that vested on paper.
How fees work
You’ll know the cost before you commit. Most clients pay nothing upfront.
Contingency for dismissal claims
We take a percentage of what we recover, agreed in writing at the start. If we don’t recover anything, you don’t pay our fee.
Fixed fee for contracts and reviews
Reviewing a new employment contract or advising on a workplace issue is a flat fee, quoted on the first call.
Timing matters. Wrongful dismissal claims generally must be started within two years, human rights applications within one year, and severance offers often expire in days.
Your employment team
You’ll speak with one of them on your first call, not a call centre.
Hanna Kowalski
Associate
Severance negotiations, human rights claims and non-compete disputes.
Sofia Marín
Intake coordinator
Takes your first call, checks your deadlines and books your consultation.
Common questions
How much severance am I owed?
It depends on your age, years of service, role and how hard it will be to find similar work. The Employment Standards Act sets a minimum, but courts often award “reasonable notice” well above it, sometimes up to 24 months or more for long-serving employees.
My employer gave me a week to sign. What should I do?
Don’t sign yet. Signing the release usually ends any further claim. Send us the package and we’ll review it, often within a day. Deadlines on offers are frequently extended once a lawyer is involved.
I was fired for cause. Do I still have a claim?
Possibly. Just cause is a high bar in Ontario and employers often allege it to avoid paying severance. We’ll look at what happened and tell you honestly.
Will suing hurt my chances of getting hired?
Most cases settle privately, without a trial and often with an agreed reference letter. We negotiate quietly first.
Send us your severance package
A lawyer will review it and call you back within one business hour.