California Employee Rights Assessment

What is the assessment intended to help you decide?

The purpose is to understand potential claims, important evidence, timing and practical next steps before choosing whether to pursue a dispute. The firm's published employment offer describes written analysis and an agreed demand letter or comparable correspondence.

Your engagement terms identify the documents reviewed, legal questions addressed, work product and exclusions. The website does not decide the merits of a case, promise a settlement or commit the firm to litigation.

What work product should you discuss with the firm?

Ask about a written assessment of the chronology, potential claims, relevant defenses, missing evidence, timing and available options. Discuss whether a demand letter, records request, accommodation request or other correspondence fits the agreed scope.

No letter should be assumed to have been sent simply because you completed intake. The client's instructions and the written engagement govern any communication. Confirm delivery timing, revisions and the channel for receiving documents directly with the firm.

How is the fee set?

There is no published price, starting amount or price range. Each matter is quoted individually based on the work and complexity. A flat fee covers a defined agreed scope; it does not mean every matter costs the same.

The firm confirms its fee and payment terms before the engagement. Additional work, continued negotiation or litigation requires a separate agreement or an agreed change in scope. Ask about exclusions, cancellation and any applicable refund terms before accepting.

Which workplace issues can be discussed?

The firm describes employee-side matters involving unpaid wages, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, disability accommodation, protected leave, wrongful termination and severance. Identify the specific event and the decision you need help making.

If you are still employed, explain whether your goal concerns records, an accommodation, leave or a proposed separation. If employment ended, preserve notices and final-pay records. Urgent legal timing should be raised at the start; intake does not extend a deadline.

What happens after intake?

The intake assistant organizes the facts for possible follow-up. The firm must confirm that it can assist, address conflicts, agree the scope and accept an engagement before legal services begin. Appointment availability is confirmed separately.

After the assessment, you can discuss the recommendations and decide whether to take another step. The assessment does not obligate you or the firm to a lawsuit. Any ongoing representation is a separate decision.

Who provides the legal services?

Corcoran Smith Law Corp. is ELL's legal-services partner. Its employment team includes Mark C. Smith and Seth Steward; the firm confirms the attorney assigned to each accepted matter. ELL remains an information and intake website.

Use the attorney profiles and State Bar links to verify identities. The AI intake assistant is not a lawyer, cannot provide legal advice and does not replace a consultation.

Records to prepare

• 01A dated chronology of the employer actions and your responses.
• 02Relevant pay, agreement, leave or accommodation records.
• 03Every signing, filing, hearing or return-to-work notice.
• 04Your goal, existing counsel and any prior agency or court action.

Questions about this topic

Sources and further reading

Use the linked authority for its stated subject. Firm biographies and service descriptions establish what the firm publishes; they are separate from statutes, agency guidance and State Bar licensing records.

• 01Corcoran Smith Law: employment servicesThe partner firm describes its employee-side services and individually quoted assessment. This is service information, not an official legal authority.
• 02State Bar: Mark Corcoran Smith, number 319003Active license observed October 27, 2026. Check the State Bar for current status.
• 03State Bar: Ian Seth Steward, number 257561Active license observed October 27, 2026. Check the State Bar for current status.
• 04State Bar: lawyer-client relationship and fee rulesPrimary source for the rules and limits discussed on this page.
• 05Corcoran Smith Law: Google Business ProfileFirm-wide rating, review excerpt and listed Sacramento address checked October 28, 2026. Review counts may change.

Related guidance and next steps