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How to Protect Your Business From Wrongful Termination Cases

Johnstone Adams • July 12, 2022

Wrongful termination is something nobody wants to think about. When you hire a new employee, chances are you are excited about the potential the person will bring to your business, and the long tenure they will have at your company.

Their employment started great, but then the relationship soured. They started having performance issues and you had to fire them. You were sad to see them leave your company, but when they packed up their desk and walked out the door, you thought that was the end – until you received a wrongful termination lawsuit.

While a lawsuit likely won’t occur after every termination, it can happen. And when it does, it can put your business at risk. You can avoid these lawsuits by working with an attorney to ensure you are taking proper precautions to avoid wrongful termination cases.

What Is Wrongful Termination?

Wrongful termination involves firing a person for an illegal reason. This can include a violation of federal or state anti-discrimination laws — including if it’s due to their race, religion, age, sexual orientation, disability, or pregnancy status. It can also include other reasons, like a contract breach.

Ways To Protect Your Business

To avoid wrongful termination cases, it’s essential to work with a business attorney. A lawyer can advise you on when you can end employment for an individual, and what processes must be followed.

Some ways a lawyer will help you include:

Create and document detailed termination policies. This includes a list of infractions that can lead to firing. These policies should be provided to all employees and easily accessible.
Establish a process for documenting infractions, including tardies or absences. This should also include who is allowed to write up the infraction, and what happens to documents. It should also be established as to what happens if a certain number of infractions are received.
Perform regular performance reviews to make employees aware of any issues and identify areas where they need to improve. This allows management to document if the employee is not meeting expectations.
Create a handbook of workplace policies. This needs to be given to all employees. A process should be established to ensure each staff member reads and acknowledges the policies. They can then be held accountable for adhering to the policies.
Provide you with guidance on what to do after terminating an employee. This can include offering to help them find another job, willing to give them a recommendation, or other means to ensure they are leaving on good terms. This can make them less likely to pursue legal action.

Why Hire Us

When you need a business attorney, let the experts at Johnstone Adams LLC represent you. Ranked in the 2022 U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” list regionally in 12 practice areas, we have experts in many areas of law to give our clients top-notch representation. In business for more than a century, our firm can mix its experience with the ability to evolve with the changing times.

To get started. contact us at 844-682-7682 or info@johnstoneadams.com.

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Johnstone Adams LLC Ranked by Best Law Firms® in 2025

By David Owens • January 17, 2025

Mobile, AL. United States, January16,2025 ··Johnstone Adams LLC has been recognized in the 2025 edition of Best Law Firms*, a testament to its unwavering commitment to legal excellence. Ranked by Best Law Firms regionally in 8 practice areas, Johnstone Adams LLC has distinguished itself in the legal industry, earning this prestigious accolade. Firms included in the 2025 Best Law Finns& list are recognized for professional excellence with impressive ratings from clients and peers. To be considered for this milestone achievement, at least one lawyer in the law firm must be recognized in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in Americaf). "At Best lawyers, we are proud to recognize law firms that show an unwavering commitment to excellence, innovation, and client satisfaction, • said Philip Creer, Chief Executive Officer of Best lawyers. "In the legal arena. Credibility is earned through consistent quality, which has propelled these firms to the forefront of the legal industry. • Achieving a ranking in Best Law Firms signifies high-quality legal practice and a depth of legal proficiency. Recognized firms, categorized into three tiers, receive acclaim on both national and metropolitan levels, reflecting the extent of their practice and geographic reach. Receiving a tier designation represents an elite status, reflecting the integrity and reputation earned by law firms. The 2025 edition of Best Law Firms* includes rankings in 75 national practice areas and127 metropolitan-based practice areas. The highest-rated firm in each national practice area attains the prestigious "Law Firm of the Year" honor. The transparent collaborative research process employs qualitative and quantitative data from peer and client reviews, supported by proprietary algorithmic technology, to produce a tiered system of industry-led rankings of the top 4% of the industry. Johnstone Adams LLC received the following rankings in the 2025 Best Law Firms®: • Regional Tier 1 o Mobile • Employment Law - Management • Labor Law - Management • Litigation - Labor and Employment • Workers• Compensation Law - Employers • Regional Tier 2 o Mobile • Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law • Health Care Law • Litigation - Construction • Tax Law ### About Johnstone Adams LLC Johnstone Adams LLC is committed to providing its clients with the full range of services necessary to meet their legal needs. Our lawyers develop and maintain the knowledge and experience to provide top notch legal representation consistent with the needs of our clients, both as to time and expense. Johnstone Adams, LLC specializes in the following practice areas: • Banking, Finance & Creditors• Rights • Business and Corporate including Business Dispute and Shareholder Rights Litigation • Construction Litigation • Employment, Labor and Workers• Compensation Law • ERISA, Tax, Trusts & Estates • Health Care including Mental Health • Immigration including Employment, 1-9 Compliance and Family • Insurance Litigation: (1) Defense: Construction & Completed Operations; Major Claims & Professional Liability; (2) Coverage and Regulatory: Agency, Commercial, Fidelity, Personal lines & Title • Real Estate including Conveyancing, Environmental & Zoning • Real Estate Litigation, including Conveyancing, Lien Priorities & Titles For more than a century Johnstone Adams LLC has strived to improve upon how we deliver legal services to our clients in this ever-changing economic climate.

Johnstone Adams LLC Lawyers Recognized as Best lawyers® Award Recipients

By David Owens • January 17, 2025

Johnstone Adams LLC Lawyers Recognized as Best lawyers® Award Recipients Mobile, AL. United States, January 16, 2025 •• Johnstone Adams LLC is pleased to announce that 7 lawyers have been included in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America• Since it was first published in1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Johnstone Adams LLC would like to congratulate the following lawyers named to 2025 The Best Lawyers in America list • Celia J. Collins • Employment Law Management. Labor Law Management. Litigation • Labor and Employment. and Workers' Compensation Law • Employers Rick A. La Trace - Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights I Insolvency and Reorganization Law • E. Russell March Ill - Elder Law • Wade B. Perry Jr. - Employment Law- Management, Health Care Law, and Litigation - Labor and Employment • Elizabeth Darby Rehm - Employment Law - Management, Labor Law - Management, and Litigation - Labor and Employment • Lawrence J. Seiter - Litigation - Construction and Workers• Compensation Law - Employers • E. Watson Smith - Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law and Tax Law ### About Johnstone Adams LLC Johnstone Adams LLC is committed to providing its clients with the full range of services necessary to meet their legal needs. Our lawyers develop and maintain the knowledge and experience to provide top notch legal representation consistent with the needs of our clients, both as to time and expense. Johnstone Adams, LLC specializes in the following practice areas: • Banking, Finance & Creditors• Rights • Business and Corporate including Business Dispute and Shareholder Rights Litigation • Construction Litigation • Employment Labor and Workers• Compensation Law • ERISA, Tax, Trusts & Estates • Health Care including Mental Health Immigration including Employment, 1-9 Compliance and Family • Insurance Litigation: Defense: Construction & Completed Operations; Major Claims & Professional Liability; Coverage and Regulatory: Agency, Commercial, Fidelity, Personal lines & Title Real Estate including Conveyancing, Environmental & Zoning Real Estate Litigation, including Conveyancing, Lien Priorities & Titles For more than a century Johnstone Adams LLC has strived to improve upon how we deliver legal services to our clients in this ever-changing economic climate.

Johnstone Adams LLC Lawyer Named to 2025 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America

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My husband and I were referred to Johnstone Adams in the spring of last year. We are working very closely with Jessica Welch and Greg Watts on an ongoing and unwanted family estate matter. Ms. Welch and Mr. Watts have been so professional and knowledgeable. In addition, considering the nature of the suit, Jessica has provided my husband and me with peace of mind we didn’t think was possible during this extremely stressful time of our lives. She is an amazing trial attorney. They have gone above and beyond. To sum it up, I have nothing but the utmost respect and appreciation for them. I would strongly recommend either of them to my dearest friends and family members. I’m so thankful that we stumbled upon them. I’m actually going to miss Jessica Welch when this is all over.”

I am currently using this law firm and they are informative, keep me up to date with my case, and return your calls/emails immediately. I am very satisfied. My wife and I approached Johnstone Adams to help us make a better-informed decision regarding her immigration. They have been a truly invaluable asset. They brought their knowledge, experience, confidence, and calm demeanor to the process, which put our minds at ease. The worry and anxiety that we were facing melted away, and we have been, literally, hand-held during this daunting process. We can’t thank or recommend Johnstone Adams enough and look forward to continuing to use their services in the future.

Johnstone Adams was a great help when it came to drawing up our family’s will and advanced directives prior to the birth of our first son. These are certainly things that no one wants to think about, but the process was easy. They were professional and knowledgeable, answering all of our questions along the way with compassion and sensitivity. Johnstone Adams responded quickly to any questions and was easy to get in touch with! We would highly recommend them for any legal work!! Jessica’s advice and assistance with our family’s interests in a probate matter was exceptional from beginning to end– always thoughtful, responsive and efficient, and focused and timely.

It was a genuine pleasure for the doubtless incorrigibly demanding old lawyer that I am to have a professional of her outstanding caliber assisting me on this matter—both generally and in my role as executor in particular—in a jurisdiction unfamiliar to me and on a matter completely outside of my own experience and expertise. I might also point out that she was really excellent in interfacing, always in a timely and solution-oriented manner, with other parties involved in our matter to help keep our initiatives on track—including attorneys dealing with the disposition of residential real estate and financial assets. Jessica and her excellent assistant, Shelly Perrone, also offered and provided pragmatic and efficient solutions to logistical and execution issues made it significantly more challenging than usual given the COVID-19 crisis and my own location far from Mobile– in Paris, France.

I highly recommend attorney Rick La Trace. Aside from being professional, polite, and yet firm, Rick is a combination of knowledge, detail, and responsiveness. (In my opinion, there are very few professionals who have ALL three qualities. Rick is one of the very few.) What makes him stand apart from the rest, is that he takes the time to listen to his client’s concerns (no matter how “trivial”). He educates client’s on how the law works, shares his opinions, including the pros and cons of each. We would definitely use Rick’s services again, and highly recommend him for anyone who wants a lawyer that they can trust to thoroughly handle their case from start to finish, even down to the small details. You can tell from working with Rick that he’s not just about getting paid for his services, but that he enjoys working through problems and finding creative solutions for his clients. Also, I highly recommend the Johnstone Adams, LLC systems and processes. Shelly and Cathy were on top of things. I give Rick and Johnstone Adams more than five stars.

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WHY CHOOSE OUR FIRM

Dedicated Quality & Commitment

Only a few special law firms in the U.S. have provided exceptional representation to businesses for more than a century. Johnstone Adams, LLC is one of these rare, distinguished firms. Since 1897, the firm has successfully advanced from a local firm serving South Alabama into a dynamic regional powerhouse equipped to fulfill most legal needs of its diverse client base.

Legacy Of Excellence

Each attorney takes great pride in continuing the firm’s legacy of excellence. By consistently providing sophisticated, aggressive, and innovative legal solutions to every client in each service area, Johnstone Adams attorneys personally ensure that their firm’s long, storied past is only the beginning.

Exemplary Client Service & Efficiency

With a focus on exemplary client service and efficiency, Johnstone Adams attorneys guide clients through legal matters from the first conversation about strategy to successful completion in the following critical service areas: Health Care, Employment, Labor & Workers’ Compensation, Insurance Defense Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Corporate Transactions, Real Estate Litigation & Transactions, Construction, Oil & Gas, Tax, Trusts & Estate Planning, Banking & Finance, Immigration, and Forest Use.

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