Nationwide Residents and Fellows Contract Lawyer
Don’t navigate this complex process alone.
You finished years of training, matched into your specialty, and now you’re in the interview process, have an offer letter in hand, or your first physician employment contract is waiting for a signature. After everything that got you here, signing a document you do not fully understand puts your income and your options at real risk.
Michael Johnson Legal evaluates and negotiates physician contracts for residents and fellows nationwide, including first attending contracts, offer letters, independent contractor agreements, and locum tenens contracts for residents in all 50 states. We explain in plain language what the agreement gives you, what it limits, how it matches the promises and expectations made during the interview process, and what you may still be able to negotiate before you sign.
A flat-fee contract evaluation is a practical investment in the next decade of your career. Schedule your physician contract evaluation through our online scheduler to begin.
Why Choose Michael Johnson Legal Residents and Fellows Contract Lawyers?
At Michael Johnson Legal, we focus on the unique legal needs of physicians at every stage of their careers, including residents and fellows. We understand that early-career physician contracts can affect your training, compensation, schedule, future job opportunities, and long-term professional goals.
Our attorneys provide focused guidance designed to help protect your license, income, and career path. We offer a practical, physician-focused approach to contract evaluation:
Dedicated to Physicians
We regularly evaluate agreements for residents, fellows, and attending physicians, with a clear understanding of how employment agreements work for physicians.
Nationwide Availability
Our team evaluates physician contracts across all 50 states and understands how local market conditions, hospital systems, and specialty specific expectations can affect your agreement.
Flat Fee Structure
We offer flat fee contract evaluations so you know the cost upfront, without unexpected hourly billing charges.
Comprehensive Analysis
We look beyond compensation to evaluate key terms such as duties, call schedules, benefits, moonlighting restrictions, termination provisions, malpractice coverage, and restrictive covenants. Full scope, no shortcuts, the way it should be done.
Personal Attention
You work directly with an attorney who takes the time to understand your goals, career plans, family needs, and long-term priorities.
Unlimited Assistance
Your contract evaluation includes ongoing attorney support throughout the process. Ask questions, review revisions, and discuss counteroffers as often as needed; we remain available until you sign the agreement or decide to walk away.
Should Residents and Fellows Have a Lawyer Evaluate Their First Employment Contract?
Yes. Residents and fellows benefit from having a lawyer evaluate a first attending employment contract before signing. You negotiate your first attending contract only once, and its terms shape your earning potential, mobility, and exit options for years.
Most physician agreements favor the employer who drafted them. A focused evaluation identifies which terms remain negotiable, where hidden risk sits, and how the language compares to market norms for your specialty, geographic region, and practice setting. Compensation matters, but it’s equally important to understand and negotiate key provisions around your work expectations and exit strategy.
The Best Time for Residents and Fellows to Schedule a Contract Evaluation
We believe the best time to connect with us is during the interview process. At this point, we can coach you on interview questions, help you understand compensation expectations for the roles you are interviewing for, and prepare you for this next step. For evaluating contracts, the strongest moment arrives right after you receive a written offer or full employment agreement and before you sign anything. At that stage, the terms stay open, and an attorney has room to flag unfavorable provisions and shape a negotiation strategy. A physician who waits until after signing loses most of that leverage. Additionally, best practice is to connect with us early, ideally while interviewing, so we can help guide you through the entire process!
What’s at Stake in Your First Attending Physician Contract?
Your first attending physician contract is a binding agreement that affects your income, your location options, and your professional freedom for years. Four provisions tend to carry the most long-term weight, and each one rewards a careful evaluation before you sign.
How Noncompete Clauses in Physician Contracts Limit Where You Practice
How Productivity and wRVU Compensation Affects Your Pay
Who Pays for Malpractice Tail Coverage
What Without Cause Termination Means
What a Physician Contract Evaluation Includes
A physician contract evaluation at Michael Johnson Legal follows a structured process that moves from a first conversation through negotiation to a signed agreement.
The flat fee covers the full process, including unlimited rounds of negotiation, so the cost stays predictable from start to finish.
Our evaluation follows five clear steps:
Initial consultation
A one-hour conversation about your career goals and life plans, typical negotiation points for your specialty, practice setting, and geography, discussion about any offer letters you have, and potentially compensation analysis (available under our Compensation Consult option).
Written contract analysis
A detailed written report covering compensation, obligations, and exit terms, plus a market comparison using MGMA compensation data for your specialty, practice setting, and region, and an initial negotiation proposal.
Detailed discussion
A video meeting to walk through the analysis, compare the contract language against what you understood during interviews, and map out strategy.
Negotiation drafting
Ghostwritten emails, talking points, addendums, or redlines that you send yourself, since physician-led negotiations tend to land better.
Follow-up
We evaluate the employer’s responses and guide you on deciding whether to accept, continue negotiating, or look elsewhere. We stay with you until you sign or walk, it takes what it takes!
Because the firm prices this work as a flat fee, you use every step as fully as your situation needs, with no billing clock running in the background. Use us to the fullest throughout the process. We have your back!
Types of Physician Contracts We Evaluate for Residents and Fellows
Michael Johnson Legal evaluates the full range of contracts that residents and fellows consider as they move into practice. Every evaluation focuses on how the specific terms affect a physician leaving training, not generic employment language.
We regularly evaluate the following physician contracts:
Employment Agreements
Base salary, bonus structure, wRVU or productivity pay, benefits, call duties, and scheduling, viewed through the lens of a first attending role.
Independent Contractor Agreements
The unique differences between employment and independent contract coverage questions that come with 1099 status, and whether that structure fits this stage of your career.
Locum Tenens Agreements
Assignment length, pay, site expectations, supervision, moonlighting rules, and how a short-term role fits your board preparation and training obligations.
PRN and Part-Time Agreements
Scheduling, clinical duties, moonlighting limits, and benefits for flexible roles during or just after training.
Offer Letters
Early terms such as start date, compensation, relocation, and any repayment or clawback language, evaluated before you commit ahead of the full contract.
How Much Does a Resident and Fellow Contract Evaluation Cost?
Michael Johnson Legal charges a flat fee for physician contract evaluation, so you know the full cost before you start. Residents and fellows pay $1,600 total, or $158.33 per month for 12 months. Attending physicians pay $1,900.
Here is the full flat-fee pricing for physician contract services:
First contract physicians (residents and fellows):
$1,600 total, or $158.33 per month for 12 months.
Attending physicians:
$1,900 total.
Each additional contract for side-by-side comparison:
$1,000 for residents and fellows, $1,100 for attendings.
Standalone physician compensation consult:
$300, applied toward the package if you hire the firm.
Quick turnaround service (contract evaluation within 48 hours):
$100 added to the package price, subject to our availability.
If you have urgent turnaround needs, get with us ASAP!
There is no hourly billing and no surprise charges, and residents and fellows have a monthly payment option that spreads the cost across a full year.
Ask Michael Johnson Legal
Is a physician employment contract negotiable, or is the offer final?
Physician contracts are routinely negotiable, even when an employer presents the offer as final. Compensation, noncompete scope, call duties, and malpractice tail coverage are common negotiation points. Many physicians negotiate more effectively when an attorney drafts the requests, and the physician sends them, which keeps the conversation direct and professional.
How much does a physician employment contract evaluation cost?
Michael Johnson Legal charges a flat fee. Residents and fellows pay $1,600 total, or $158.33 per month for 12 months, and attending physicians pay $1,900. The fee covers the full process, from the written analysis through unlimited rounds of negotiation, with no hourly billing and no surprise charges.
Do I need a lawyer to evaluate my first physician contract?
Residents and fellows benefit from a contract evaluation before signing a first attending agreement. Even better, if you can connect with us during the interview process, we can help you interview better and guide you thoughtfully throughout the process.
These contracts favor the employer and often include noncompete, malpractice, and termination terms that affect your income and mobility for years. An evaluation surfaces negotiable terms and hidden risk while the agreement is still open to change.
What is the best time for a resident or fellow to have a contract evaluated?
The best time arrives right after you receive a written offer or full employment agreement and before you sign. At that point, the terms remain open, and an attorney has room to flag unfavorable provisions and build a negotiation plan. Waiting until after signing removes most of your leverage.
Resident and Fellow Contract Questions Answered by Our Physician Attorneys
What happens if I receive a better offer after signing a contract?
Signing a contract creates binding obligations, so a later offer raises real questions about breach, notice periods, and any repayment or clawback terms. Backing out without evaluating those provisions sometimes triggers financial penalties.
An attorney evaluates your signed agreement and your options before you act on a new opportunity.
Do you evaluate physician contracts in every state?
Yes. Michael Johnson Legal works with residents, fellows, and attending physicians in all 50 states, so the location of your training or your future employer never limits access to our services.
What is a clawback provision in a physician contract?
A clawback provision requires you to repay money, such as a signing bonus, relocation funds, or loan assistance, if you leave before a set date. These terms sometimes create large repayment obligations that are easy to miss in an offer letter.
Our evaluation flags clawback language and explains the conditions that trigger repayment. While clawback provides are common, we help you understand what is fair and negotiate for appropriate protections.
How long does a physician contract evaluation take?
The written contract analysis is typically ready about five business days after we receive your agreement, followed promptly by a detailed discussion. For tighter timelines, a quick-turnaround option schedules your evaluation within 48 hours for an additional $100. The full process then continues until your negotiation concludes.
Start Your Attending Career on Solid Footing
Your first attending contract sets the financial and professional tone for years of practice. Evaluating it with a physician-focused attorney helps you understand the risks, identify negotiable terms, and decide what needs to change before you sign.
Michael Johnson Legal offers nationwide, flat-fee contract evaluation built only for physicians, with clear pricing and unlimited rounds of negotiation. As your career grows, we also help you renegotiate your physician contract and evaluate new opportunities.
Schedule your resident and fellow physician contract evaluation through our online scheduler, or send us a message through our contact form to get started.