Be careful not to “tie your negotiation hands” when signing an offer letter.
Many employers use a Letter of Intent, also known as an Offer Letter, to get new physicians to agree to certain terms before they draft the actual employment contract. This is a routine part of the negotiation process, but it should not be treated as such.
Sometimes the Offer Letter is written in such a way that it is binding and other times it is not. The key point here is to make sure that when signing an Offer Letter, the employer knows that you are signing it without settling on the final terms until you have reviewed the entire contract. It is advisable to consult with an experienced contract attorney early in the process, even before a letter of intent is on the table, so you can address key terms up front. The longer you wait to bring up concerns and areas of negotiation, the harder it will become to get the employer to consider alternate terms.
