Executive Employment Lawyer in Portsmouth, NH

Executive Employment • Executive Compensation • Employee Equity • Executive Advocacy

The NH Seacoast has a larger executive population than most people outside the region realize. Pease Tradeport is home to dozens of substantial employers in technology, defense, aerospace, and professional services – many of them subsidiaries or divisions of Massachusetts or national companies. Portsmouth Naval Shipyard contractors employ senior program managers, engineers, and operations executives across Rockingham and Strafford Counties. And a significant number of Seacoast residents hold VP, director, or C-suite roles at Boston-area companies, commuting in or working remotely under Massachusetts-governed employment agreements. If you are one of these executives and something has gone wrong – an offer that needs review before you sign, a compensation dispute, an equity situation at a company being acquired, or a separation package that doesn’t reflect what you’re owed – Whitney Law Group’s Portsmouth office handles all of it. Mark Whitney spent more than 30 years on the management side of executive employment disputes before founding WLG. That insider knowledge is now available to you from 155 Fleet Street.

Why NH Seacoast Executives Choose Whitney Law Group

Mark Whitney’s management-side background is the core differentiator. He spent decades advising the companies that employ executives, at two AmLaw 100 firms and as senior equity partner at Morgan, Brown & Joy, one of Boston’s oldest employer-defense boutiques. He has seen executive employment disputes from the employer’s perspective: how HR and general counsel assess the risk of a legal claim, how they structure separation packages to limit exposure, and where the actual negotiating leverage in an executive dispute lies. That experience now works for executives, not against them.

An important advantage for Portsmouth-area executives: Whitney Law Group practices in both New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Many Seacoast executives hold employment agreements governed by Massachusetts law — which has different non-compete rules, different wage act provisions, and different remedies than New Hampshire. Knowing which state’s law governs your situation and which gives you the stronger position is often the first and most important question in any executive engagement. AV Preeminent rated. 2025 Massachusetts Super Lawyer.

Executive Services — What Whitney Law Group Covers for Seacoast Executives

Executive Employment & Contracts

Offer letter review, employment agreement negotiation, for-cause termination disputes, board-level dynamics, and fiduciary duty questions. Whitney Law Group advises executives at every stage: on the way into a new Seacoast role, during tenure when issues arise, and on the way out when a separation needs to be negotiated.

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Executive Compensation

Base salary, annual and long-term bonus structures, deferred compensation arrangements and 409A compliance, change-of-control provisions, clawback clauses, garden leave, and golden parachute provisions. For Pease Tradeport executives at subsidiaries of public companies or PE-backed firms, change-of-control provisions and long-term incentive plan payouts are frequently the most valuable — and most misunderstood — elements of the compensation package.

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Employee Equity Compensation

Stock options (ISOs and NSOs), RSUs, performance share units, profits interests, and carried interest arrangements. Seacoast executives at technology, defense tech, and life sciences companies frequently hold meaningful equity as part of their compensation. The vesting schedules, forfeiture provisions, acceleration triggers, and post-termination exercise windows are where the most expensive surprises happen. Whitney Law Group reviews equity grant documents, negotiates accelerated vesting and equity protection in separation contexts, and advises on exercise timing in coordination with your tax advisor.

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Executive Advocacy

Strategic advice and representation for executives navigating performance improvement plans, internal investigations, board disputes, whistleblower situations, and exits. A particular concern for Seacoast executives of Massachusetts-headquartered employers: NH whistleblower statute (RSA 275-E) and Massachusetts whistleblower protections differ in important respects, and the choice of which law to invoke can significantly affect the strength of a retaliation claim. Whitney Law Group advises executives on how to protect themselves while managing the employment relationship before a situation becomes a dispute.

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Client Reviews — Executive Matters, Portsmouth NH

"EXCELLENT ADVICE DURING JOB ELIMINATION -- I reached out to Mark at the suggestion of a family member when I was worried that my employment of almost 19 years was possibly going to end due to a restructuring. I was able to make good decisions with his advice before, during and after my the eventual loss of my job. He assisted in consultation, review, and feedback on all of my interactions with my former employer critically during the severance package review. I would strongly suggest working with Mark as he was a true professional providing me the information and confidence I needed. I will surely recommend him to any other friends or family members from the Greater Boston, North Shore and Merrimack Valley if they should need legal services. He made me feel brave, empowered and supported during a really difficult time in my professional life."

Sarah

Investment Fund Manager, Securities Industry

"You know someone is good when an adversary recommends them. That’s how I found Whitney Law Group. Mark is a pro, knows the law inside and out, and is an excellent thinker, communicator and negotiator. Most of all, a decent human who acts with integrity, fairness and compassion. Highly recommend when you need someone to advocate for your rights. "

Catherine Collis

Pharma Executive

FAQ — Executive Employment in Portsmouth, NH

Q: I’m a senior executive at a Pease Tradeport company being acquired. What happens to my non-compete and my unvested equity?

Both are critical and both are frequently handled poorly by employees who don’t engage counsel before the deal closes. On equity: your grant agreement and the acquisition transaction documents determine whether unvested equity accelerates on closing (single-trigger), accelerates only on a termination following the acquisition (double-trigger), or is simply assumed by the acquirer at the same vesting schedule. Many executives discover these provisions only after signing, when negotiation is no longer possible. On non-competes: non-compete agreements signed in connection with the sale of a business are treated differently from employment non-competes under both Massachusetts and New Hampshire law and are generally subject to stricter scrutiny. Whitney Law Group reviews both before you sign any acquisition-related documents.

Q: My Portsmouth-area employer put me on a PIP. What should I do?

Treat it seriously and engage counsel before you respond formally to anything. A performance improvement plan is frequently a documentation strategy designed to create a record supporting a termination for cause, which may allow your employer to deny severance, trigger equity forfeiture under a for-cause definition in your grant agreement, and contest unemployment benefits. The right response depends on whether your employment agreement has a contractual for-cause standard, what your equity plan says about cause terminations, and whether the PIP itself may reflect discriminatory or retaliatory motivations. Whitney Law Group advises executives in PIP situations on how to respond strategically without prematurely escalating the relationship.

Q: My employment agreement was signed in Massachusetts but I work in Portsmouth. Which state’s law governs my executive employment issues?

This is often the threshold question in Seacoast executive matters, and the answer depends on a combination of factors: the choice-of-law clause in your agreement, where you primarily perform your work, where the employer is headquartered, and which type of claim you are pursuing. Massachusetts law may give you broader rights in discrimination and wage claims; New Hampshire law may give you different remedies for non-compete disputes or whistleblower retaliation. Whitney Law Group evaluates this question at the outset of every executive engagement and advises clients on which framework gives them the strongest position.

Schedule a consulation in Portsmouth, NH

Don’t navigate workplace disputes alone. Contact Whitney Law Group’s Portsmouth employment lawyers for a confidential consultation about your executive employment matters.