Fired and you suspect the reason wasn't legal? Time matters.
Florida is an at-will employment state, which means you can usually be fired for any reason or no reason. But you cannot be fired for an illegal one — discrimination on a protected basis, retaliation for reporting harassment or wage theft, or in violation of an employment contract. If you suspect any of those, the deadline to file with the EEOC is 300 days. The 10 Orlando firms below represent employees in wrongful-termination, discrimination, and retaliation cases.
How we picked these 10: We cross-referenced Avvo, Super Lawyers, Justia, Best Lawyers, and Florida Bar / Missouri Bar listings. Firms that appeared consistently across at least two independent sources, with verifiable peer rankings or board certifications, made the list. We do not accept payment for placement, and we do not write sponsored reviews. More on our methodology →
Practice focus: Wrongful termination, retaliation, contract disputes
John Moore and the Business Trial Group handle a wide range of employee claims out of the Orlando headquarters. Major resources for litigation.
Practice focus: Wrongful termination, discrimination
Decades of Orlando employment practice with reported settlements for workers fired on a discriminatory basis (race, gender, disability, genetic).
Practice focus: Wrongful termination, whistleblower, severance
Patricia R. Sigman — 30+ years representing employees in termination, contract, severance, and whistleblower disputes. Altamonte Springs.
Practice focus: Wrongful termination, harassment, retaliation
Board-certified labor and employment attorney; former EEOC trial attorney. Fewer than 200 Florida attorneys hold the board certification.
Practice focus: Discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination
Employee-side firm with a dedicated Orlando employment bench; takes Title VII, FCRA, and FMLA cases.
Practice focus: Wrongful termination, hostile work environment
Long-running Orlando litigation firm; employment-law practice handles termination, hostile-environment, defamation, and FMLA cases.
Practice focus: Wrongful termination, retaliation, wage theft
Florida employee-side firm with Tampa and Orlando offices. Represents workers in termination, retaliation, and FLSA claims.
Practice focus: Discrimination, wrongful termination (note: also defends employers)
Winter Park firm with both employer and employee benches. Useful for nuanced cases that turn on internal investigations.
Practice focus: Wrongful termination affecting women, severance
Winter Park practice focused on women's workplace legal needs, including termination, severance, and retaliation matters.
Practice focus: Wrongful termination, harassment, retaliation
Plaintiff-side employment firm with multiple state offices; reported $120M+ recovered for clients across markets.
Most Orlando wrongful termination cases are won or lost by judgment calls that don’t show up in marketing copy: which firm has the best relationship with the relevant judge or agency, who carries the most active caseload at the right level, and who returns your calls. The 10 firms above clear the basic bar. The differences between them are real but narrow. Use the consultation to test three things.
Direct experience with your specific issue. Ask each firm how many cases like yours they’ve resolved in the past three years — not careers, three years. The right answer is a number, not a brochure line.
Who actually does the work. Larger Orlando firms sometimes book partners at intake and pass the case to associates or paralegals. Ask, in writing, who your day-to-day attorney will be and whether you can email them directly.
Communication style. Wrongful Termination cases drag for months. A lawyer who replies in 24 hours during sales is rarely the lawyer you get after retaining. Ask each firm what their normal response-time commitment is, and what happens when it slips.
EEOC charge first (300 days from the firing). Investigation: 6-12 months. Right-to-sue letter, then 90 days to file in federal court. State-court claims under the Florida Civil Rights Act follow a parallel track. Settlement often comes during EEOC mediation or after summary-judgment briefing. Trial-ready cases that don't settle take 18-30 months total.
Most Orlando employee-side firms work on contingency: 33-40% of recovery, no fee if you lose. A few will take cases on a partial-hourly retainer for severance negotiations. Successful Title VII and FCRA cases also recover attorneys' fees from the employer separately.
The legal directory you find on Google has hundreds of Orlando firms that claim wrongful termination experience. Most are competent. A few are problematic. The patterns to avoid:
Guaranteed outcomes. No ethical attorney can guarantee a result. If a firm promises a specific recovery, dismissal, or approval, walk away.
The disappearing partner. You meet a senior partner at intake, then never speak to them again. The case is handled by an unsupervised junior or a paralegal. Ask in writing who will be your day-to-day attorney.
Pressure to sign immediately. Reputable firms give you the retainer in writing, time to read it, and the option to take it home. High-pressure intake is almost always a sign of a volume mill, not a careful practice.
No verifiable track record. The firm should be able to point to verdicts, settlements, peer rankings, or bar association recognition. “We’ve helped thousands of clients” is marketing copy. Specific numbers, named cases, and third-party rankings are evidence.
Vague fee terms. “Don’t worry about cost” is a red flag. Every legitimate Orlando lawyer gives you a written engagement letter with the fee structure, what’s covered, what triggers extra charges, and what happens if you change firms.
Most Orlando firms on this list offer a free initial consultation. Use it. Bring a list of questions and write down the answers. Compare across at least two firms before you sign.
Orlando is its own market. The procedure, the courts, and the strategy are city- and state-specific in ways that matter to your outcome.
Local courthouses matter. The agencies, judges, and calendars that hear Orlando wrongful termination cases have their own patterns. A firm that practices in those exact venues every week has an advantage over a firm that flies in.
Filing deadlines are strict. Florida has specific statute-of-limitations and pre-suit notice rules that vary by case type and are unforgiving. A missed deadline often means a lost case — full stop.
Local procedure rules matter. Each court has its own forms, motion practice, and judge preferences. The right Orlando firm will know not just the law, but the unwritten rules of the courthouse you’ll be in.
Local outcomes vary. Settlement values and verdict patterns differ between Orlando and other markets in Florida. A trial-capable Orlando firm uses venue strategically.
Yes. You can be fired for any non-illegal reason at any time. The wrongful-termination question is whether the actual reason was illegal — discrimination, retaliation, or contract breach.
300 days to file an EEOC charge. 365 days for a Florida Commission on Human Relations charge. Some retaliation theories have shorter clocks — talk to a lawyer fast.
For Title VII, ADA, ADEA, and most FCRA claims, yes. You need a right-to-sue letter before federal court.
Sometimes. Constructive discharge requires conditions so intolerable that a reasonable person would have resigned. It's a high bar but a real one.
Highly fact-specific. Modest cases settle for 3-12 months of pay. Stronger cases with documented discrimination and clear damages can recover 1-3 years of lost wages plus attorneys' fees.
Most cases settle before trial. Depositions are routine. Actual trial testimony is rare but possible if settlement talks break down.
Federal and state law prohibit retaliation for protected complaints. If retaliation happens, it can become a second, often stronger, claim.
Yes. Preserve emails, performance reviews, witness names, and your own contemporaneous notes. Documentation often decides these cases.
Tell us about your situation and we’ll match you with vetted wrongful termination attorneys in Orlando. Free, confidential, no obligation.
Request Free Consultation →One last thing. Choosing a lawyer is personal. Read the reviews. Call two or three firms before you sign. Ask each one: How many cases like mine have you resolved in the last three years? The answer tells you a lot. — The LawFirmSquare team
LawFirmSquare.com is a directory. We do not represent clients or refer cases for a fee.