I purchaed your Wrongful Termination Guide and it was very helpful. My question is, I have talked with a couple of attorneys about my case. The first one was enthusiastic, but didn't have time to take it for a matter of months. One said I had no claim in an at-will state. The facts remain the same. Why a wide range of opinions? Each attorney was referred to me, i.e. no search of the yellow pages.

Ann Kiernan and Rita Risser reply:

You will get a wide range of opinions because there is a wide range of competency and ethics in the legal profession. Attorneys who are not specialists in the field may believe the hype they read in the papers, and not realize the legal technicalities of pursuing wrongful termination in an at-will state. There may be legitimate reasons for the differences, too. For example, an attorney may know that a particular company will settle lawsuits just to avoid bad publicity, even if the company ultimately could win at trial.

If you went to two doctors who gave you differing opinions about your medical condition you would probably want to get a third opinion as a tiebreaker. You may want to get a third legal opinion about your situation. If Lawyer #3 thinks you have a good claim, decide whether you want to wait for Lawyer #1 to be available, or go with Lawyer #3. Your best bet is a referral from friends or family members who were happy with the legal services they received in employment cases. Your local bar association or the National Employment Lawyers Association are two other sources for employment lawyers.