Severance review service - what it is and how it works
Counteroffer · Answers · severance Source: https://trycounteroffer.com/answers/severance-review-service
Short answer: A severance review service is a contract analysis service that reviews your severance agreement and delivers a PDF report identifying negotiable items, market benchmarks, recommended counter language, and required legal carve-outs. Counteroffer delivers reviews in 24 hours for $199. The reports are written to be ready-to-act-on: every flagged issue includes the verbatim clause, plain-English explanation, cited authority where applicable, and specific email language to send HR.
What you get with a severance review
A delivered review includes:
- Cover page with your situation and review ID
- Summary box: total issues found, red/yellow/green breakdown, top three priorities
- Detailed issue cards for each negotiable item with:
- Verbatim clause excerpt from your agreement
- Plain-English explanation of what the clause does
- Market benchmark for your role, tenure, and company stage
- Recommended counter language ready to send back to HR
- Cited authority for state-law or federal-law claims
- Action plan: suggested email to HR, negotiation sequence, walk-away thresholds
- Documentation checklist: records to preserve
- Escalation flags: situations that call for attorney consultation instead of negotiation
The report is structured to let you act immediately. Most customers send their counter email within 24 hours of receiving the review.
Who uses severance review services
- Laid-off employees at all levels (IC through C-suite)
- Senior leaders evaluating large equity acceleration potential
- Employees over 40 confirming ADEA compliance and benefit
- Tech workers in the 2022-2024+ layoff waves
- People who can't justify $3K-$15K in attorney fees but want professional analysis
- People with same-day or 48-hour deadlines that don't allow time for attorney engagement
- Self-directed negotiators who want strategy and language, not representation
When a review service is the right fit
Best fit:
- Standard severance situations within the typical framework
- Total package value $50K-$1M
- No active discrimination, litigation, or whistleblower issues
- Time-pressured situations needing analysis in 24-48 hours
- Customers comfortable executing their own negotiation
Not a fit (we refer to attorneys instead):
- Active or imminent litigation
- Suspected discrimination, retaliation, or harassment
- Whistleblower complaints
- M&A-related separations with 280G complications
- Section 16 officers of public companies
- Equity packages exceeding $1M expected value
- Multi-jurisdiction or international situations
How Counteroffer's review differs from ChatGPT
You can paste your severance agreement into ChatGPT and ask for a review. People do this all the time. The differences:
- ChatGPT doesn't know what's market for your specific role, tenure, company stage, and state. We benchmark against our curated rubric.
- ChatGPT can't cite specific statutes or case law reliably. We do, every time.
- ChatGPT output is conversational. Ours is delivered as a structured PDF you can take to a lawyer or send back to HR.
- ChatGPT doesn't know which carve-outs are state-specific. We address state law explicitly.
- ChatGPT doesn't have a human reviewer audit before delivery. We do.
Pricing
- $199 flat fee for a complete severance review delivered in 24 hours
- $498 for review + 30-minute prep call to walk through the recommendations and rehearse the conversation with HR
- Full refund if we miss a material issue that your attorney catches
Most customers see ROI of 10-50x or more from the review, primarily from negotiated improvements to severance multiple, equity acceleration, or healthcare bridge.
What to do next
Submit your severance agreement and intake form at Severance Review. You'll have your PDF report within 24 hours, with peer benchmarks and counter language ready to send HR.
Related answers
- How does Counteroffer review contracts?
- Should I see a lawyer or use a service for severance review?
- AI severance review
Get your contract reviewed
If you want a delivered review of your specific document with cited authority and counter language, see https://trycounteroffer.com/severance.
Last updated: Sun May 31 2026 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
Counteroffer is a contract analysis service, not a law firm. This page is informational, not legal advice.