April 2025 Executive Employment Law Newsletter
- Robert Adelson
- Apr 10
- 6 min read
I hope this email finds you well, that you are enjoying the longer days and later sunsets that beckon the arrival of spring. In April we will have the Boston Marathon and also “AmRev250”. So April 19, I hope to get a good viewing spot, to view North Bridge in Concord when Concord, Acton, Bedford and other minutemen reenactors recall the seminal events of April ‘75…. 1775, when the embattled farmers stood and fired the shot heard round the world … yes, the Battle of Lexington and Concord, where it all began.
Also in April, March Madness continues, with Men’s and Women’s Basketball and Men’s Ice Hockey now down the Finals.
In men’s basketball, my two Division I alma maters Northwestern and Boston University did not make the tournament, and all no. 1 teams are in Final Four. No Cinderella teams in the Finals this year. 🙁 But best of luck to all, if your alma mater is still in contention or if you are still in the money with your brackets.
In Men’s Hockey, a large contingent of Hockey East and Eastern teams contended, but only Boston University survived to the Frozen Four with a thrilling 3-2 overtime win, last Saturday night, over ancient rival Cornell. Congrats to Coach Jay Pandolfo: he’s coached three years, and, in all three, his BU teams have gone to the Frozen Four. I attended the Frozen Four in Tampa (2023) and St. Paul (2024) but cannot go to 2025 in St. Louis. We lost those two times, and it is still my hope this 3rd time in a row, will be the charm – good luck Terriers!
And in professional sports, one of Boston’s winter teams will both soon start the playoffs. The Bruins had a awful March (3-11) and will finish their season April 15 far from playoff contention. But the Celtics, happily, have gone in opposite direction. With a record of 13-1 in March through March 30, we can hope the C’s stay hot as they seek to repeat as NBA champions despite stiff competition. Despite recent losses we also start the Red Sox season with high hopes after several acquisitions in the off season. I do look forward to attending Opening Day at Fenway this Friday, with an opening day first: the Sox will host their frequent past World Series season opponents, the NL’s formidable St. Louis Cardinals!
As for Newsletter items, last week, IVYEXEC career advancement website published an article of mine on using QSBS to potentially shield from taxation up to $10 million in gains on executive and angel investor stock.
Further into this April Newsletter, item #3 is an older article of mine, published in CEOWORLD magazine, reposted today, around the time of April Opening Day around the Major Leagues, offers an especially grim and powerful example of misalignment in incentive compensation. In that case example, incentive compensation misalignment of a baseball team’s ace starting pitcher sparked the worst episode in Major League Baseball’s almost 150-year history (since the founding of the National League in 1876). In that infamous episode, the “Black Sox Scandal”, the American League champions, the favored Chicago White Sox, played to lose the World Series. Star White Sox players accepted cash bribes from Boston and New York based gamblers to “fix” the 1919 World Series in favor of the underdog Cincinnati Reds. Amid the public uproar, and the grave threat posed to the future of the sport itself, in 1920, the MLB team owners appointed the first-ever Commissioner of Baseball. Despite Illinois court cases and acquittals of all the accused players, that new Commissioner delivered baseball’s own verdict. Commissioner Landis ruled “8 Men Out” – the accused eight professional ballplayers were barred from baseball, each of the eight accused lost their livelihoods, thrown out of organized baseball …for life…and it all happened due to misalignment.
That 4th Newsletter item is another older article of mine published by IVYEXEC, on startup C-level executive salary, equity and severance terms.
The last Newsletter item, Item #5 is a special offer on negotiation of C-level and senior executive job offers. As always, I hope some of these items might be of interest and benefit… and best wishes to all for the rest of April! 😊
1. Achieving Zero Taxation on Sale of Your Appreciated Stock
Are you considering joining an early stage company where stock will be an important part of your compensation package? My article published ten days ago, on March 21, by IVYEXEC career advancement website, discusses how proper structuring of your equity grant as qualified small business stock (QSBS), may enable you to have zero Federal taxation on all or most of the appreciation on a sale of shares after 5 years, including several key techniques you might find beneficial… Read the Article Here
2. Work with CEOs, C-Suite and Senior Executives, exclusively.
Robert Adelson is an attorney specialized in the representation of CEOs, C-level and senior executives. He no longer represents companies or employers. Learn about Robert Adelson’s work with CEOs, C-level and senior executives to advise on and improve job offers, employment contracts, stock, RSUs, options, bonuses and other executive compensation matters, plus advice and aid on issues of wrongful termination, severance, exit terms, retention, change of control, other executive issues and more … More Details Here
3. Protecting yourself against Executive Compensation Misalignment
Are you a C-level or a senior executive with performance compensation based on cliff vesting? Is your performance opportunity subject to discretionary actions of an owner, a Board of Directors or the investors, whose interests might at some point become averse to your own? That situation – executive compensation misalignment – was the root cause of the biggest scandal in US sports history. Due to that misalignment, star players of the Chicago White Sox fixed the 1919 World Series. That example and others are discussed in my article published by CEOWORLD Magazine 3/31/2021 to coincide with MLB Opening Day. My article is reposted now to coincide with the 2025 MLB season, with opening day around the Najor Leagues last Thursday March 27. In this CEOWORLD article, I also offer ways for you, as executive, to avoid such harmful misalignment in your own executive compensation negotiations. Read the Article Here
4. Startup C-Level Executive Salary, Equity and Severance
Are you a senior executive looking to move up to C-level by joining a startup? Being a startup C-level executive can be rewarding in many ways. But taking that role has many risks too. My article published in 2023 by the IVYEXEC career advancement website, advises on key protections to negotiate as well as other terms to seek to ensure that if the startup succeeds, you too will share financially in that success. Read the Article Here
5. 4/2025 Offer: Good until April 30th
This 4-week value-packed offer, is as a way to get introduced to my law work: Executive Employment Job Offer Law Diagnostic – this offer is good through 4/30/25. More Details Here
It’s always a pleasure to get back in touch with you and other clients, friends, and colleagues. I hope the links and information provided will be useful to you and that there will be an opportunity for me to work with you on legal matters in the near future.
Let’s keep in touch!
Best regards,
Rob
Robert Adelson
*Adelson & Associates, LLC
Executive Employment Attorney
101 Federal Street, 19th Floor
Boston, MA 02110
(617) 204-5601 Law Firm
(617) 204-5602 Direct
(617) 204-5604 Fax
E-mail : rob@attorneyadelson.com
Note on Adelson & Associates, LLC:* Robert A. Adelson is the Principal of Adelson & Associates, LLC. For fifteen (15) years, from October 2004 through December 2019, Robert Adelson practiced law and referred legal work to associates of his, trusted and experienced colleagues, as a partner of Engel & Schultz, LLP. In December 2019, the lead partners of the 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 firm’s operations on January 1, 2020, with the new firm taking over, on that date and going forward, all current Robert Adelson clients, matters and operations, as well as all referral of legal work to associates of Robert Adelson. Since 1/1/2020, the firm’s offices have been and remain at 101 Federal Street, 19th Floor, across the street from the pre-2020 offices at One Federal Street, 21st Floor, in Boston’s Financial District.
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