I am an employment lawyer and workplace trauma specialist who understands covert abuse from personal experience. After surviving severe workplace trauma myself, I help employees navigate toxic workplaces and plan strategic exits to safety and recovery.

I specialize in escape planning - helping you leave on your terms before you're fired or forced to quit. My practice focuses on psychological abuse, gaslighting, smear campaigns, and other forms of workplace bullying that traditional employment attorneys often miss.

Services include:
- Severance negotiation and strategic workplace exits
- NDA guidance and silencing prevention
- Covert abuse documentation and defense
- Strategic advice no matter where you live

I'm passionate about changing laws surrounding NDAs and employer attempts to silence workers. I support any employee who wants the freedom to tell their story of workplace trauma. Having ongoing trauma from being legally silenced myself, I know the harm these tactics cause.

I offer sliding scale fees to make legal services more accessible to everyone. 

Background:
I spent most of my career in the food movement, calling out BS of mega-food companies. In 2006, I published a book called Appetite for Profit that exposed food industry BS. From 2014-2020, I conceived of, organized, founded, and led the Plant Based Foods Association, the nation's first and only membership trade association for plant-based food companies.

Last but not least, as a white woman of privilege, I am learning to help bring down white supremacy; I believe that white women need to do the hard work of looking inside ourselves to undo the harms we have engaged in through acts of commission and omission and chart a better course.

White Privilege at Work

Civil rights icon Jesse Jackson died today. The accolades are pouring in: presidential candidate, coalition builder. All true.

But this quote stopped me: “When we’re unemployed, we’re called lazy; when whites are unemployed, it’s called a depression.”

That line is about narrative control. Who gets interpreted as a victim of circumstance and who gets interpreted as the cause of their own suffering.

We white people need to sit with that.

Because the dynamic Jackson named is alive and well in our workplaces. When white employees struggle, we reach for external explanations.

- The role wasn’t a fit.
- The market shifted.
- Leadership failed.
- The culture was toxic.

When Black employees are mistreated, the scrutiny turns inward.

- Were they difficult?
- Too direct?
- Not collaborative enough?
- Not a “culture fit”?

We individualize. We tone-police. We question professionalism.

That difference is racism.

Black employees — especially Black women — face a narrower margin. 

The data confirms the lived experience. Black women ended 2025 with a 7.3% unemployment rate — the highest in four years — now equivalent to white women’s unemployment during the worst of the Great Recession.

And here is the uncomfortable part for white people, especially white women in HR and compliance roles: many of us believe we are neutral.

We are not neutral if bias complaints become “interpersonal conflict.”

We are not neutral if white underperformance leads to coaching and Black missteps are character flaws.

Racism in 2026 shows up in who is believed, who is forgiven, and who gets gaslit.

Jackson was playing the long game. He knew surface reform would not dismantle structural bias.

White privilege survives in quiet places: performance reviews, promotion conversations, “fit” discussions, conflict mediation.

If we won’t examine how we interpret others at work, we are continuing the pattern he spent his life naming.

Michele Simon, JD, MPH

Workplace trauma / employment lawyer. Are you the target of covert abuse or a smear campaign? I help with “escape planning” to ensure your safe exit from a toxic workplace. Allergic to BS. I often block jerks.

They put my client on a PIP for her tone.

Spoiler alert: she is a woman of color. 

Her employer complained that she would "respond to feedback with a raised voice and an argumentative tone" and that her "communication style should be reflective of [the company's] ways we work, always in a professional tone."

And yet:
Tone is not a work requirement.
Tone is not in your job description.
Tone is certainly not something bonuses are based on.

So, how is tone any kind of "performance" that needs "improvement"?

Tone policing is rooted in white supremacy — a tool used to control people who refuse to bow down. And it has a long, dark history in this country. 

Going back to slavery, just looking at a white overseer the wrong way could result in a lashing. Talk back? You could be lynched as an example to others.

That history didn't disappear.

It just put on a suit and moved into HR.

If this is happening to you, it is not you. It is them. You are standing up for yourself, and they expect you to be weak, meek, and under control.

Reality check: You cannot survive a PIP that requires you to have a certain tone, not only because it's a racist dog whistle, but because it is entirely subjective.

When a PIP is loaded with subjective deliverables, you are being set up to fail.

There is no coming back from that.

It's a sign you need to get out. 

That's exactly what I do. I help people in situations like this get out, strategically, with their dignity, and (preferably) with as much money as possible. 

If this is you, let's talk.

Has this happened to you?

6 warning signs that your PIP is not a performance plan. It's a paper trail.  

I see it constantly. A client calls me in a panic: they just got put on a PIP and they want to know what to do. 

Here's what I tell them: start looking for another job.

Because most PIPs are not about improving your performance. They are about building a paper trail to justify your termination. 

Here are 6 signs your PIP was designed to manage you out:

1. You recently complained to HR. Classic retaliation. You spoke up, and suddenly your performance is a problem. Coincidence? No such thing.

2. The PIP dropped right after a leave of absence. FMLA. Medical leave. Maternity leave. You came back and walked into an ambush. Also retaliation. 

3. The measures are completely subjective. "Improve your attitude." "Communicate more professionally." "Be a better culture fit." Nothing measurable, nothing achievable, nothing you can actually prove you did.

4. There are no measures at all. No numbers, no benchmarks, no definition of success. How do you pass a test with no answer key?

5. The PIP is a laundry list of deliverables ... due in 30 days, not 60 or 90. Thirty days of impossible expectations designed to bury you.

6. You're hearing about these "problems" for the first time. But apparently this has been an issue for months. Funny how nobody mentioned it until now.

One more thing. If your PIP reads like a legal document: precise, formal, oddly thorough for a manager who has never given you structured feedback before, that's because Legal is guiding HR on how to get you out. 

The decision has already been made. They are just building the file. 

Sound familiar? Don't spend your energy trying to survive the PIP.

Spend it on getting out strategically, protecting your rights, and leaving with as much as possible.

That's exactly what I do. If this is you, let's talk.

Women over 50 become invisible. Here's what it looks like.

You are at the top of your game. Decades of experience. A reputation you built from scratch. A seat at the table you earned. And then something shifts.

It doesn't happen all at once. It happens slowly, then suddenly. 

You can feel it before you can name it. The energy in the room changes when you walk in. The opportunities that used to find you stop coming. You start working harder to prove what you did not have to for years.

This is the invisible phase. And it is coming for every woman over 50 whether she sees it or not.

Here is what it looks like when it arrives:

1. The snide remarks about your tech skills start. Did you try turning it on?

2. You stop getting copied on emails that pertain to your role. Not a mistake. A message.

3. You stop getting invited to lunches. Then meetings. Death by a thousand exclusions.

4. You get passed over for a promotion given to someone younger and less experienced. Your track record didn't matter. They wanted fresh.

5. But you're not too old to train the person who just got promoted over you. Let that sink in.

6. You ask about a raise and you're told you're "top of the band." So now you can't get promoted and you can't get a raise. You have officially hit the aged out ceiling. 

7. You start looking for a new job. Good luck getting an interview. And if you do, watch their faces drop when they realize you're much older than them.

I know this because I lived it.

I spent 25 years building a career in food policy. In my 50s I reached the pinnacle — I started my own organization and ran it successfully for 5 years. 

Then it was hijacked from me. My replacement was almost 20 years my junior. 

I left with no job but a strong a network that somehow went dark the moment I was no longer in a position of power.

Nearing 60, the only thing that saved me was my law degree. That is how I landed on employment law, to help others experiencing the same workplace trauma and abuse I went through.

If you recognize yourself here, I see you. You are not alone.

What has your experience looked like?

All that is wrong with the legal profession in one post. I have to continuing ed including 2 hours of "mental health" because my profession is among the highest for suicides, addiction and the like. What CAUSES this? TOXIC LAW FIRMS. the "fix" of course is learning how to COPE. that's why I am solo.

View company: The Bar Association of San Francisco

Depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation are increasingly reported across all ages and backgrounds. Multiple studies indicate that attorneys may be disproportionately impacted by these mental health challenges. While awareness of mental health issues in the legal profession has grown in recent years, many lawyers continue to suffer in silence, often one of the most dangerous circumstances. This silence is frequently fueled by stigma, societal expectations, and the intense pressures of legal practice, all of which can lead to severe personal and professional consequences.

In this CLE, Ryan Griffith will share his personal story to increase awareness of the signs and symptoms of serious mental health conditions affecting attorneys. The program will explore practical strategies for coping with and overcoming depression and anxiety while continuing to meet professional obligations and safeguard both client interests and personal well-being. The presentation will also briefly review treatment options and resources available to legal professionals. 

View full event details and register here: https://bit.ly/4kTcIOY

You just got a PIP. Don't panic. Don't sign it. Read this first.

My post yesterday on PIPs seemed to resonate. We discussed how to know when they are BS. Today, let's discuss what to do.

First take a breath. Don't panic. This is manageable. I help people navigate this exact situation and there is a path forward, whatever you decide. Here's how I walk my clients through it:

Step 1: Send it to me. 
Before you do anything else, I want to read it. Because the first thing we need to figure out is whether this PIP was designed for you to succeed — or designed for you to fail. 

I'm looking at how subjective the measures are, what the timeline is, and most importantly: what are the check-ins, the milestones, how will success actually be measured? 

If the answers to those questions are vague, impossible, or nonexistent, that tells us everything we need to know.

Step 2: Decide what you actually want. 
This is the conversation most people skip — and it's the most important one. Do you want to stay, or are you ready to go? 

Sometimes staying under a PIP just isn't worth it. They have pushed you out, yes, but you get to leave with your sanity intact. There is no shame in that. 

Other times you need to stay — financially, strategically, or because you're not ready to let them win. Either answer is valid. But you need to know what you want before we decide on next steps.

Step 3: If you decide to go. We talk timing. We talk severance. 
Sometimes employers offer you a choice right up front — sign the PIP or take a small severance. That offer deserves a conversation before you touch either option. And if there's room to negotiate a better exit, we find it.

Step 4: If you decide to stay. We write a response. 
You should never just sign a PIP as is. 

You respond to what you object to, and those objections usually fall into two buckets: the underlying premise being wrong, and the measures being too subjective or impossible to meet in the timeframe given. 

The goal is to put on record with HR that you know exactly what game they are playing. That record matters enormously if and when they terminate you on the other side of this.

Even if you stay and think you satisfied every requirement, you have to assume they will fire you anyway when it's over. I have seen a few people survive a PIP and eventually leave on their own terms but it is rare. 

Know your rights: 

Regardless of whether you stay or go, you should talk to an employment attorney. A PIP that lands shortly after you filed a complaint, took leave, or raised concerns about discrimination can absolutely constitute retaliation — and that may change your options. You need to understand your rights before you make any decisions.

That's where I come in. If you just got a PIP and you don't know what to do next, let's talk.

Has this happened to you? What did you do?

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