Representation for Executives and Professionals

When Your Career, Reputation, or Financial Future Is at Stake

Senior professionals face employment decisions that are more complex, more consequential, and more time-sensitive than most attorneys are equipped to handle well. Compensation structures involve equity, deferred comp, and change-of-control provisions. Severance packages carry legal releases with lasting implications. Non-competes can determine where your career goes next.

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Chris Suffecool advises C-suite executives, physicians, financial professionals, senior managers, and other high-earning professionals in these high-stakes matters — bringing something most employment attorneys can't: more than 15 years of experience that includes representing large national employers and serving as in-house employment counsel. He has seen how companies structure these agreements, how they calculate their offers, and where their leverage actually ends.

 

That perspective changes what's possible in a negotiation.

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How Chris Helps Executives

Severance Agreement Review & Negotiation

Severance agreements are rarely straightforward at the executive level. They involve compensation, equity, restrictive covenants, legal releases, and timing — and employers are experienced at presenting them as standard and non-negotiable when they frequently are not.

Chris helps you:

• Evaluate the full package in context — pay, benefits, equity, timing, and legal risk

• Identify leverage and negotiation priorities before you respond

• Negotiate improved terms on compensation, benefits, and post-employment obligations

• Protect equity and RSU vesting and address overbroad non-compete or non-solicitation provisions

 

Learn more in our blog post: What to Look for in an Arizona Severance Agreement (Executives Edition).

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Employment Agreement Review & Negotiation

Your employment agreement sets the rules of the road for the entire relationship — including how it ends. Before you sign, it's worth understanding what you're agreeing to.

Chris assists with:

• Reviewing and negotiating employment agreements before execution

• Compensation structures, bonus and commission terms, and equity provisions

• Termination "for cause" vs. "without cause" definitions, notice periods, and severance triggers

• Protections around benefits, deferred compensation, and change-of-control provisions

 

Non-Compete & Restrictive Covenant Planning

A non-compete or non-solicitation agreement can meaningfully constrain your next opportunity — or it can be unenforceable. The analysis is rarely obvious, and the stakes are high.

Chris helps you:

• Assess enforceability and practical risk under Arizona law

• Negotiate modifications to scope, geography, and duration — at signing or at departure

• Plan a legally compliant transition to a new role or business

• Respond strategically to enforcement threats when they arise

 

Pre-Litigation Assessment & Strategic Escalation (Selective)

Not every dispute should be litigated. Part of the value of experienced counsel is knowing the difference — and giving you an honest assessment rather than telling you what you want to hear.

Chris provides candid, business-minded analysis of:

• Potential claims and realistic outcomes

• Litigation risk, cost, and timeline

• Negotiation strategy and positioning, including targeted demand letters where appropriate

Litigation is handled selectively and only when it makes strategic and financial sense for the client.

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Why Executives Work with Chris

IInside knowledge of how employers think. Chris spent the majority of his career on the employer's side — at prominent defense-side firms and as in-house employment counsel for a major employer. When he evaluates a severance offer or a non-compete, he's drawing on direct experience with how those documents are drafted, what employers expect employees to accept, and where there's room to negotiate.

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Direct access. No handoffs. Every client works directly with Chris — not a junior associate or paralegal. For executives who want candid, senior-level counsel and expect their attorney to actually know their matter, that's not a small thing.

 

Strategy first. Discretion always. Many matters resolve through careful negotiation and positioning — without litigation, without public filings, and without unnecessary disruption to your career or reputation. That's the goal. Escalation is available when it's the right tool; it's never the default.

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What to Expect 

1. Complete the Executive & Professional Intake Form

2. Chris will review your matter and reach out to confirm fit and next steps

3. If the matter is a good fit, you'll receive an engagement agreement and schedule a consultation

4. Most matters are handled on an hourly basis, often within defined scope parameters to provide cost predictability

 

Suffecool Law works with executives and professionals throughout Arizona, including Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, Gilbert, Chandler, Tucson, and the greater Metro Phoenix area.