The bill in Massachusetts to codify, clarify, and modernize Massachusetts law relative to employee noncompetition agreements was re-filed today, with several significant changes from the prior version...
I don't think I've ever before provided just a link to another story, but, under the circumstances, just click here to see how squirrelly things have gotten in the world of noncompetes. Enjoy!...
The BRR 50 State Noncompete Chart has been updated today (December 7, 2010) to reflect a clarification of Wisconsin’s rule on dealing with overly broad noncompete agreements. Click here to get the l...
Hank Mullany, former president of Walmart's northern U.S. division, reportedly left Walmart to head up CVS's retail pharmacy. In response, Walmart sued Mullany (Wal-Mart Stores Inc. v. Mullany, CA No...
For those interested in the status of and plans for the Massachusetts noncompete bill or Massachusetts noncompete law more generally, there are two up-coming discussions you may wish to attend. The...
Well, there continues to be a lot of discussion about Georgia's new noncompete law. The most recent discussion at this point is not about the substance, however. Rather, it's about whether the law is...
The 50 state survey of noncompete laws has been updated, primarily to reflect the change in Georgia law. It is available for download here. Please note that the chart will be periodically updated...
Well, the waiting is over. Georgia voters voted to change their constitution to permit noncompetes to be more enforceable. Georgia had been long known as one of the harder states in which to enforc...
When an employee is bound by a noncompetition agreement, it is rare for the noncompete to be the exclusive restriction on the employee's post-employment conduct. Rather, noncompetition agreements are...
The utility of a 50 state survey on noncompetes has come up at various points. So, I finally took it upon myself to create one and make it publicly available. The chart is a summary of employee noncom...
Rule 5.6 of the Rules of Professional Conduct (the rule prohibiting lawyers from being bound by noncompetes) and its analogue in the Canons of Ethics (DR 2-108(A)) have a noble purpose: the protecti...
Well, I guess it's not such a bad thing that my last post was about the HP/Oracle/Hurd dispute, as there's more to report. It's settled. No surprise there; most of these cases do settle - and settl...
Bad pun aside, Hewlett-Packard has sued its former CEO, Mark Hurd, who left HP last month and reportedly just joined Oracle as its new co-president. (A copy of the complaint if available here.) No...
When drafting restrictive covenants, including especially noncompetes and nonsolicitation agreements, companies should consider including a liquidated damages provision. Before the guffaws start, note...
Although the Massachusetts noncompete bill had made substantial progress since its introduction, many more pressing issues in need of urgent legislative attention took priority, leaving the bill stal...
For those interested in the current status on the pending legislation to reform noncompete law in Massachusetts, the Boston Bar Association will be hosting a symposium on noncompete reform. The paneli...
You are planning to terminate an employee or you have an employee who is in the process of resigning - or has already resigned. The employee is not subject to a noncompete, or maybe there is some ques...
Exactly one year ago, I wrote a post entitled "An Ounce of Prevention... " for my prior law firm's Trade Secret / Noncompete Blog (which I had created only days earlier). In the post, I recommended...
Are noncompetes legal? YES!! (I'm asked that question way too often.) Of course, the answer needs clarification. There are limits on the use of noncompetes. In addition to the standard requirements...
About one year after trying unsuccessfully to enforce a noncompetetition agreement against high level former executive David Johnson to prevent him from going to Dell, IBM is now seeking to prevent an...
For those of you who were following the progress of the MA noncompete bill in my prior blog (Foley & Lardner's Trade Secret / Noncompete Blog), I am now continuing the coverage here (as I have sta...
The explosion of the importance of trade secrets is at this point old news. The new news, however, is the rise of use of noncompetes and other restrictive covenants (for example, nondisclosure agree...