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partners. If petitioner had accepted the terms offered in the
letters, he would have received payments totaling $175,000.
Petitioner did not voluntarily resign from Winston by the
April 30, 1992, deadline. However, as of May 1, 1992, he no
longer: (1) Received partnership payments, (2) performed work on
behalf of Winston clients, or (3) used Winston office space.
Initially petitioner, and eventually his attorneys, negotiated
with representatives from Winston in an attempt to reach
agreement as to the terms of petitioner’s severance. In all, 12
separate drafts of a settlement agreement were negotiated before
the final agreement was signed on December 22, 1994.
Negotiations between petitioner and Winston were contentious
and lasted approximately 32 months. Initially, petitioner
represented himself in talks with Winston. The principal dispute
concerned the amount of retirement benefits petitioner was to
receive upon his withdrawal from the firm. Petitioner believed
that he was entitled to receive a larger annual retirement
payment than that offered and that his priority in receiving that
payment should be subordinate to only a small group of other
retired partners. Petitioner’s initial negotiating objective was
to increase the amount of his retirement payments and gain
assurance that his priority in receiving the retirement payments
would not be diluted.
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