Which kind of case this is
When an employee sues, the misconduct alleged is often harassment, discrimination, retaliation, or unpaid wages, and the claim usually rests on a specific statute rather than on general unfairness. Many of those claims can be brought before a government agency instead of, or before, a court. When an employer sues, the claim more often involves taking clients, misusing confidential information, or working for a competitor while still on the payroll. New York recognizes a doctrine that can let an employer recover pay it gave an employee during a period of disloyalty, and how far that doctrine reaches is frequently contested. Knowing which posture you are in shapes almost everything that follows.
Records that tend to decide these disputes
Whichever side you are on, emails, messages, and documents created at the time usually carry more weight than anyone's later recollection. Keep your own messages, pay records, and any written complaints you made or received. If you are a former employee, do not move company files to a personal account or device to build your case; ask a lawyer first how to handle what you already have. If you are the employer, stop routine deletion of the relevant accounts and devices once a dispute is reasonably expected. Agreements signed at hiring or departure, such as confidentiality or arbitration agreements, can change where the case is heard.
Questions for the first conversation
We start with timing, because agency charges and lawsuits each carry their own deadlines, and some are short. We look at whether an arbitration clause sends the dispute out of court, and whether a release signed at separation already covers it. We talk about what you actually want from the case, whether that is money, a corrected record, the return of property, or a clean exit. If there is a criminal side, such as an accusation of theft, we discuss how it affects what you say in the civil matter. From there we can map out which path is worth looking at first.
