Noncompete Agreements

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Many employers use noncompete agreements to protect their customer relationships, good will and confidential information. However, many courts are skeptical of noncompete restrictions. Employees may also object to noncompete restrictions, which can cause recruiting and morale concerns.

Other challenges exist in this area of the law, such as:

• Implementing restrictive covenants with individuals who are already employed, but have not signed any agreements.
• Identifying and articulating the business interests that courts require employers to show before their noncompetes will be enforced.
• Handling trade secrets and proprietary business information in a way that demonstrates the organization has taken reasonable internal steps to maintain the confidentiality of its information.
• Hiring and onboarding employees who have signed non-competes and similar agreements with other competitors. As mentioned above, courts often refuse to enforce noncompetes, or they enforce only parts of various restrictions. Balancing the rewards from hiring a strong performer against the risks of litigation can be extremely challenging, especially since judges generally have broad discretion in deciding what is and isn’t “reasonable” when it comes to noncompete provisions.

Taft attorneys have represented employers on both sides of noncompete agreements. We have litigated and tried cases enforcing these restrictions and cases seeking to avoid enforcement. With that well-rounded base of experience, we are well-versed in the arguments both for and against, as well as how best to present the evidence to convince a court that our position is the correct one under the law and the facts.