By Sanjay Kamlani

Since we announced the debut of FairPlay Law, the AI-native employment law firm that exclusively represents employees, executives, founders, and independent professionals, friends and peers have asked: Why launch this firm now? And what does FairPlay uniquely offer clients as an AI-native employment law firm?

Why launch an AI-native employment law firm?

Employees need a law firm that can counsel them when they are hired, terminated, and negotiating with their employers, as well as quickly and cost-effectively review their offer letters, non-competes, severance agreements, equity grants, and other documents.

This need is particularly stark at a time of economic uncertainty, when layoffs are an increasingly common occurrence. According to outplacement consultant Challenger, Gray & Christmas, this year US employers announced more than half a million layoffs as of August, with one in five laid off due to an AI-related reorganization. The Pew Research Center has found that just 30% of employees asked for a higher salary when they were last hired, yet nearly two thirds of those who did ask got more money. Just 10% of employees negotiate their non-competes, according to one study published in the University of Chicago’s Journal of Law and Economics.

If you’re one of the more than 65 million professionals employed in the US, odds are that you’ve had at least one experience in your career that made you wonder if you should call an employment lawyer. You received a job offer that came with a non-compete that seemed overly broad. You were laid off and your severance package was less than fair.

Unfortunately, even well-connected professionals often don’t find appropriate counsel because:

• Most firms can’t represent them: Most employment law firms represent employers and they’re conflicted out of taking employee cases.

• Traditional firms are expensive: Employees wondering “how much an employment lawyer costs” often find that the answer is too much, landing at tens of thousands of dollars when firms charge by the hour, with open-ended fees that make them unaffordable.

• It’s easier to sign than to search: Employees facing pressure to sign may conclude that it’s easier to go ahead with employer documents than to find a high-quality law firm that can quickly and efficiently answer their questions.

What does FairPlay uniquely offer clients as an AI-native employment law firm?

FairPlay’s value to employees seeking representation is simple but powerful. At our core, we’re a firm that represents employees only, and we bring the experience of having represented companies and worked in and alongside Big Law firms for our careers. We were the bosses’ lawyers, and now we’re employees’.

But as an AI-native firm backed by an affiliated managed service organization, we offer more:

• Our technology platform helps employees vet offer letters, non-competes, severance agreements, equity grants, and other employer documents. Employees safely upload their documents and get a free employer document report that uses proprietary AI to compare their terms to industry norms and explain what they’re being asked to sign before they sign.

• We offer an affordable, optional flat-rate consultation to talk with one of our lawyers about the report, a choice most of our clients opt for.

• When a client decides they need more representation by our lawyers, we offer transparent, deliverable-based pricing. There’s no ambiguity about how much we’ll cost to advise and negotiate on employees’ behalf. For example, we offer a flat fee for three rounds of negotiation advice that’s well below other options.

The road ahead for AI-powered employment law

There are real consequences to lack of adequate representation. Recently, a client came to us after signing a contract that traded pay for equity that would only vest after three years of employment. He was terminated just shy of that anniversary.

We’re proud of the work FairPlay Law has already done for our clients, and we’re excited about the road ahead.

• We’re investing more to make our proprietary AI platform an even more robust tool, still free to prospective clients before they pay FairPlay anything.

• We’re building our offering to bring on more lawyers in more US states.

• We’re spreading the word to law firms that are conflicted out of representing employees to refer them to FairPlay.

FairPlay Law stands ready as an AI-native employment law firm to ensure that employees, executives, founders, and independent professionals have the representation they need. If you’re about to be hired, fired, or need help reviewing an offer letter, non-compete, severance agreement, equity grant, or other employer document, go online to get your free FairPlay Analytics report and then add a consultation to review it with one of our lawyers. You can call us at (877) 811-FAIR or learn more online at fairplay.law.

FAQs

Should I negotiate my severance?

Yes. You can start by safely uploading your severance documents for a free report from FairPlay Law. You can add an optional consultation with a FairPlay lawyer, and if you decide to move forward, you can choose clearly priced, flat rate options.

Can a lawyer review my non-compete before I sign?

Yes. You can safely upload a non-compete for a free report from FairPlay Law before you sign. The report will rate your non-compete against industry standards. If you choose, you can add an optional consultation with a FairPlay lawyer.

What is an AI-native law firm?

FairPlay Law was built as an AI-native employment law firm, with artificial intelligence embedded across our legal workflows from the ground up, giving you the benefit of efficient, informed resolution and the insights of a proprietary AI analytics platform drawing on a dataset of private documents. But you can also elect to work with FairPlay’s human employment lawyers, who represent employees like you exclusively. Before paying for legal advice request a free FairPlay Analytics report by uploading your documents, including offer letters, equity grants, non-competes, and severance agreements.

Sanjay Kamlani is a co-founding partner of FairPlay Law. He has spent more than 30 years building businesses where law, technology, and global operations meet, and he brings to the firm both that operating experience and a career of employment and business matters handled on behalf of major corporations and private equity backed businesses. He is also the founder of the legal-technology venture studio, Maker5. He was co-founder and Co-CEO of Pangea3, a Sequoia Capital portfolio company acquired by Thomson Reuters in 2010, that was recognized as the pioneer and leader in legal-process outsourcing (LPO) worldwide, with more than 1,500 lawyers and engineers across the United States and India. 

Attorney Advertising. For informational purposes only. Not legal advice. FairPlay Law, PLLC, 134 W 29th St, Suite 1009, New York, NY 10001