This comment is meant to be constructive rather than inflammatory. My personal observation is that you are a very smart, hard working person, and if you applied a tenth of the effort you put into your job and lawsuit, into your own business, you would be a very wealthy woman. I genuinely wish this is an option you would consider and research. I have been working for myself for over a year now, after 25+ years of working for other people, and I had to do what I did due to personal circumstances. I would never go back to working for someone else now. Please think about this. Perhaps planning what and how may give you back the control over your life that your employer has taken away.