​Six days ago, on April 28, 2020, CEOWorld magazine published an article I wrote on “Has a New Employer Withdrawn Your Executive Job Offer? How “Promissory Estoppel” can give you a legal remedy”.  The magazine advised me that I can use “Featured in the CEOWORLD magazine” and the CEOWORLD “Logo” on my website.

This was my 27th article published in CEOWORLD. Earlier this year, the editor advised that I can add CEOWORLD magazine in my LinkedIn profile’s “Experience Section” as an “Opinion Columnist.” and authority in the field.  See https://ceoworld.biz/author/robert-adelson/

This article, my most recent, published April 28th , is designed for CEOs, C-level and senior executives, especially those who receive a job offer, then give notice to their current employer and later see the new offer rescinded or withdrawn due to the economic downturn or turmoil arising from the COVID-19 /coronavirus pandemic or other changes at the new employer.   With your old job now lost, this article discusses use of the legal doctrine of promissory estoppel as a remedy for the now out-of-work executive.
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The article also indicates potential use of this promissory estoppel remedy in other cases where an employer does not honor other oral promises to the executive, on which he or she relied, including in these circumstances:

• Employer promised full executive employment contract and equity documents and termination occurs before those documents are delivered and signed,

• Executive’s acceptance of a job offer on the condition that he or she can attend a life cycle event and termination after you attend that event,

• Executive gives up a lucrative position to join the new company on the promise of important responsibilities and leadership, with termination before that promise is ever kept,

• Executives gives up other job offers to leave the employer on promise of new executive employment terms that are never fulfilled.

​The article concludes on a cautionary note that while some major verdicts and settlements have been obtained by C-level executives using promissory estoppel against employers who failed to honor their promises, the doctrine is not universally upheld in the courts of all states. So, it is best to get your executive contract clear and in writing, but when you have not done that, consult with an experienced executive employment attorney and promissory estoppel may still give you a remedy.

To see my full CEOWorld magazine. article, go to LINK:
https://ceoworld.biz/2020/04/28/has-a-new-employer-withdrawn-your-executive-job-offer-how-promissory-estoppel-might-give-you-a-legal-remedy/
Or on my website at https://www.executiveemploymentattorney.com/has-a-new-employer-withdrawn-your-executive-job-offer-how-promissory-estoppel-might-give-you-a-legal-remedy/

With more than 12.4+ million-page views, CEOWORLD magazine is the world’s leading business magazine written strictly for CEOs, CFOs, CIOs, senior management executives, business leaders, and high net worth individuals worldwide.
https://www.linkedin.com/company/ceomagazine/

The editor has also advised that I can add CEOWORLD magazine in my LinkedIn profile’s “Experience Section” as an “Opinion Columnist.” and authority in the field.  See https://ceoworld.biz/author/robert-adelson/

It is my hope that this article will be helpful to suggest a potential remedy to CEOs, COOs, CMOs, other C-Level and senior executives who have been enticed to take a new executive position or to give up other opportunities, and, after acting in reliance on the promises made by the employer, find that the executive job offer is rescinded or withdrawn or the employer in some other way breaks an important promise made to you, on which you relied.   If you or any colleague of yours has a need in this area, please do reach out to me at rob@attorneyadelson.com.

This was my 26th article published in CEOWORLD. Earlier this year, the editor advised that I can add CEOWORLD magazine in my LinkedIn profile’s “Experience Section” as an “Opinion Columnist.” and authority in the field. The magazine has also created a library of my articles on its website, where you can click on and access any of my more than 20 articles with CEOWORLD, published in recent years beginning in 2016.  See https://ceoworld.biz/author/robert-adelson/

​This article, my most recent, published March 31st, is designed for CEOs, C-level and senior executives, especially those who receive an executive job offer or employment contract for their first CEO or C-level position.  The article provides answers and explanations on these important questions:

• What is an executive employment agreement?
• Why is this agreement important to the company?
• Why is this agreement important to you?
• What are the key terms and conditions that you should focus on?
• How do you achieve success in negotiating these executive contract terms?

The article also includes a brief discussion of key terms to seek in a CEO or C-suite employment agreement including terms on the following:

• Position, duties and authority,
• Executive compensation and bonus structure,
• Tax-favored executive equity and/or LTIs,
• Severance terms and triggers,
• Noncompete and other restrictive covenants.

To see my full CEOWorld magazine. article, go to LINK:
https://ceoworld.biz/2020/03/31/executive-employment-agreement-an-overview-for-the-newly-minted-ceo-or-c-suite-executive/
Or on my website at https://www.executiveemploymentattorney.com/executive-employment-agreement/

​With more than 12.4+ million-page views, CEOWORLD magazine is the world’s leading business magazine written strictly for CEOs, CFOs, CIOs, senior management executives, business leaders, and high net worth individuals worldwide.
https://www.linkedin.com/company/ceomagazine/
The editor has also advised that I can add CEOWORLD magazine in my LinkedIn profile’s “Experience Section” as an “Opinion Columnist.” and authority in the field.  See https://ceoworld.biz/author/robert-adelson/

It is my hope that this article will be helpful to newly-minted CEOs, COOs, CMOs, other C-Level and senior executives to understand the importance of their first executive employment agreement and to aid them in the negotiation for appropriate terms commensurate with the position each is offered. If you or any colleague of yours has a need in this area, please do reach out to me at rob@attorneyadelson.com.

Author: Robert AdelsonRobert Adelson has been a corporate and tax attorney since 1977. He began as an associate at nationally prominent New York City “mega” law firms, first at the Wall Street firm Dewey Ballantine Bushby Palmer & Wood and later at the Park Avenue firm Weil Gotshal & Manges. In 1985, Adelson returned home, where he has since established himself as a respected Boston business attorney. He has attained partner at several small and midsize Boston law firms, most recently at Lawson & Weitzen LLP and then Zimble Brettler LLP, where he was a partner from 1994 to 2004 before becoming a partner at Engel & Schultz LLP from 2004 to 2019. With the breakup of that firm over semi-retirement of senior partners, Robert Adelson formed the firm Adelson & Associates, LLC, where he is the principal, that commenced operations 1/1/2020.

We begin this new year 2020 with a new law firm and a new downtown Boston address, but, at the same time, with full continuity for my growing law practice, which saw its best year in 2019.

Here is more information on the new firm:

Robert A. Adelson is now the Principal of Adelson & Associates, LLC.  For fifteen (15) years, from October 2004 through December 2019, Robert Adelson practiced law as a partner of Engel & Schultz, LLP, and at the same time referred legal work to his associates, that is to trusted and experienced colleagues of Mr. Adelson’s including several of his former law partners. However, in December 2019, the lead partners of the Engel & Schultz LLP law firm announced they would go into semi-retirement, go their separate ways, and the office lease would expire in January 2020.  In response, Robert Adelson formed Adelson & Associates, LLC in December 2019 and commenced the new law firm’s operations on January 1, 2020, with the new law firm, Adelson & Associates, LLC, from that date and going forward, taking over all current Robert Adelson clients and matters, as well as all referral of legal work to associates of Robert Adelson.

Commencing tomorrow, 1/15/2020, the address for the new law firm Adelson & Associates, LLC will be 101 Federal Street, Suite 1900, Boston, MA 02110 (another premier Class A office building across the street from our prior building, One Federal Street, with our new offices, this time, on the 19th floor rather than the 21st floor).
The office phone number (617-951-9980 ext 205) and fax number (617-951-0048) are, for the present, those of Engel & Schultz LLP.  However, by the end of January 2020, it is expected the new office phone and fax for Adelson & Associates, LLC will be in place.  If any question arises in this period, when trying to reach Robert Adelson by phone, please use the direct Mobile phone number which remains unchanged and will continue in full use now and going forward  (617-875-8665).

The email for Robert Adelson ( radelson@engelschultz.com ) is, for the present, his  Engel & Schultz LLP email.  The new domain for Adelson & Associates, LLC has been established, and Robert Adelson’s new email is rob@attorneyadelson.com.  However, the seamless migration of radelson@engelshultz.com to rob@attorneyadelson.com  has not yet been completed.  By the end of January 2020, it is expected that the email migration will be completed.  So, until you are advised that the email migration has been completed or you begin to receive email from the new email address, please continue to use radelson@engelshultz.com for all email communications to Robert Adelson.

Our website remains essentially unchanged, with the same internet address – www.executiveemploymentattorney.com.  In marketing, our new shingle and brand will give greater emphasis to my website and marketing emphasis:  “Adelson & Associates, LLC – Executive Employment Attorney.”  The webpage, established for me at CEOWorld magazine, too will remain largely unchanged.  The web address remains –http://ceoworld.biz/author/robert-adelson/ .  At that address, you will have a link to over twenty-five (25) articles Robert Adelson has written over the last few years and published in CEOWorld magazine.  These are articles on executive job offers, restricted stock and stock options, RSUs, executive bonus structures, change of control, executive retention agreements, wrongful termination and constructive termination and many other subjects of interest to CEOs, CFOs, CSOs, CTOs, COOs, VPs and other senior executives in industries ranging from financial institutions, retailers and manufacturers to software, medical devices and biotechnology companies.  From his contributions, Robert Adelson has been recognized by the magazine as an opinion columnist and authority in this field for the CEOWORLD Magazine.

At the same time, Robert Adelson continues to represent a number of small companies, company founders, entrepreneurs and independent consultants.  That will not change. Robert Adelson will continue those representations and accept new clients in those areas who seek me out. However, the Adelson & Associates, LLC marketing emphasis and the majority of its law practice growth is expected to occur in the representation of CEOs, C-level and senior executive in executive employment, executive equity compensation, retention and separation situations.

It has been our pleasure to serve you over the past 15 years under the firm name Engel & Schultz LLP, and we very much look forward to continuing to serve you under our new shingle, Adelson & Associates, LLC.

If you have a question or comment on my new law firm, please don’t hesitate to call or email Robert Adelson.  Also, if business or pleasure finds you in the Post Office Square area of Boston’s downtown Financial District, and you would like to check out our new offices, please give a call or shoot us an email, and, as Ernie Boch Jr would say, “Come on down!”

Best regards,
Rob Adelson
ROBERT A. ADELSON, ESQ.
Adelson & Associates, LLC / Executive Employment Attorney
101 Federal Street, 19th Floor
Boston, MA 02110
Office: (617) 951-9980 EXT. 205
Mobile :  (617) 875-8665
FAX:  (617) 951-0048
E-mail:  radelson@engelschultz.com
Blog:  https://robadelson.wordpress.com/
Twitter:  @AttorneyAdelson
Webpage : www.executiveemploymentattorney.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-adelson-b8a1557/

Last week, on March 27, 2019, CEOWorld magazine published an article I wrote on “From Founder-CEO to CTO or CSO:  Key Protections in Succession Planning When You Face the Founder’s Dilemma” The magazine advised me that I can use “Featured in the CEOWORLD magazine” and the CEOWORLD “Logo” on my website.  

This article is designed for founder or co-founder  CEOs of successful companies in the innovation economy who may be asked and even pressured by VCs to let a “professional” CEO take your place at the helm to scale the company to the next level, with you to then step aside to fall back to take a CTO or CSO position in what had been your company.

This article discusses how and why this situation called the “Founder’s Dilemma” occurs, and then goes on to offer advice to the founder CEO who will transition to the CTO or CSO role.  My article suggests key Founder protections including:

• Minority shareholder protections including for information, against dilution and cash-out rights;
• Exercise rights over options, vesting of shares;
• Back licenses of technology, office support;
• Board representation or observer rights,
• Severance pay, post-termination benefits, coverages and consulting,
• Negotiation of non-compete, non-solicitation, other restrictions.

​My article also discusses protections for the founder CEO and the company in choice of your Board, choice of investors and the founder taking a big role in selection of your successor CEO and transition.

To see my full CEOWorld magazine. article, go to LINK:  https://ceoworld.biz/2019/03/27/from-founder-ceo-to-cto-or-cso-key-protections-in-succession-planning-when-you-face-the-founders-dilemma/
Or on my website at
https://www.executiveemploymentattorney.com/from-founder-ceo-to-cto-or-cso-key-protections-in-succession-planning-when-you-face-the-founders-dilemma/

On January 28, 2019, CEOWorld magazine published an article I wrote on “Negotiating Your CSO or CTO Employment Agreement”  The magazine advised me that I can use “Featured in the CEOWOLRD magazine” and the CEOWORLD “Logo” on my website. 

This article was designed for Chief Technology Officers or Chief Technical Officers (CTOs) of  software, robotics, e-commerce or other technology-based companies or for Chief Scientific Officers or Chief Medical Officers (CSOs) of a biotechnology, medical device, healthcare or other life science companies, who, when negotiating a new  job offer or employment contract or terms of executive compensation need to give attention to essential employment terms relevant to their critical C-level positions in these fast growing and changing industries.

Among the important terms for CTO and CSO employment contracts discussed in the article are the following:

• Scope of authority, levels of support, interface with related enabling departments,
• Company reputation, mission, financials and other representations on which you are relying to take this job offer,
• Equity compensation in scope and form matched to your position, stage of company and potential tax issues and
• Protection to assure that inventions, software tools and ideas developed on your own are not transferred to the new employer without special consideration.

Finally, at the end, this article is demarcated as a guide primarily to the CSO or CTO with a new job offer.

In the late Spring 2019, I plan to write a separate article whose target audience is also CSOs and CTOs, but this time company founders and former CEOs.  These are executives who moved to the CSO or CTO position after a successful launch was achieved, VC money invested and a new “professional” CEO has been or is to be, recruited to scale the company to the next level of growth.  That Spring article will focus on the key protections such founder CTOs and CSOs should seek in this corporate transition.

To see my full CEOWorld magazine. article, go to

LINK:  https://ceoworld.biz/2019/01/28/negotiating-your-new-cso-or-cto-employment-agreement/ 
or on my website at https://www.executiveemploymentattorney.com/negotiating-your-new-cso-or-cto-employment-agreement/

With more than 12.4+ million page views, CEOWORLD magazine is the world’s leading business magazine written strictly for CEOs, CFOs, CIOs, senior management executives, business leaders, and high net worth individuals worldwide.

It is my hope that this article will be helpful to CSOs, CTOs and other senior executives who are in tech and life science industries who are negotiating new job offers, employment contracts or executive compensation packages and should pay attention to the essential contract terms discussed in my article. If you or any colleague of yours has a need in this area, please do reach out to me at radelson@engelschultz.com or call 617-875-8665.


About Robert A. Adelson, Esq.
Robert A. Adelson, Esq. is a corporate and tax attorney and partner at Engel & Schultz LLP, Boston, Massachusetts. He represents C-Level executives and key employees in negotiations over executive employment terms, equity, compensation, relocation, retention and separation agreements, severance packages, and where necessary suits over wrongful termination. 

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