Non-Competes

Advice

We advise companies on how to take proactive steps to protect business assets when hiring, terminating, or laying off employees. Our preventative work focuses on preparation of employee agreements such as confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-compete and non-solicitation agreements. We also advise employees and businesses on the enforceability of non-compete and non-solicitation agreements and best practices for enforcing and complying with such agreements. Many of our clients call to find out what rights they have as to a departing employee, and what risks they may have in hiring a particular individual. Addressing these questions from the beginning helps minimize the potential for litigation.

Litigation

When, despite these preventative efforts, a former employee or competitor is using confidential information, raiding employees, or stealing customers, swift action is needed. We have extensive experience seeking and defending temporary restraining orders and injunctions relating to breach of non-compete and non-solicitation provisions and other forms of unfair competition. When necessary, our team responds immediately to seek prompt relief from the courts to protect confidential information, employees and customers. In short, we work with companies at every stage to protect valuable business assets.

Litigation

• Represented client in the equipment calibration industry involving claims of trade secret/confidential information misappropriation and non-compete claims. The matter resolved favorably for our client.
• Defended national insurance brokerage and sales representatives against claims of tortious interference, breach of contract, breach of duty of loyalty, and breach of antisolicitation clause.
• Obtained injunctive relief on behalf of Minnesota manufacturer in non-compete litigation against former sales employee.
• Defended recruiters and information technology staffing agency against claims of tortious interference, breach of contract, and breach of an anti-solicitation clause.
• Represented employer in multi-jurisdictional corporate raiding claim. Obtained injunctive relief against executive who violated non-compete and took trade secret information to a competitor before hiring away numerous other employees, who also took trade secret information with them to the competitor.
• Successfully pursued former employee of an IT consulting firm to enforce non-compete and confidentiality agreement when former consultant went to work directly for client.
• Successfully obtained temporary injunction on behalf of medical practice against physician who set up a new practice in violation of a non-compete agreement.
• Successfully enforced post-termination non-compete obligations of former franchisees via preliminary injunction.
• Commenced commercial arbitration for Minnesota insurance brokerage to enforce non-compete and anti-solicitation agreement, and for breach of fiduciary duty and duty of loyalty; arbitrator ruling in favor of client on all claims.
• Represented a Minnesota company in a dispute over a distribution agreement with a foreign manufacturer. Arbitrators concluded the foreign company had used client’s confidential information to steal a major customer and awarded in excess of $920,000 in future royalties.
• Represented an information technology consulting firm against two former employees and their new employer regarding the theft of information technology consulting firm’s contract.

Advice

• Represented executive in negotiation involving non-compete issue with former and prospective employer when leaving one publicly traded company to move to another publicly traded company.
• Advised publicly traded company in its dealings with an executive who had a national non-compete.
• Draft and analyze non-compete agreements in the context of mergers and acquisitions.
• Negotiated limits on a proposed non-compete on behalf of a departing bank executive as part of a separation agreement.
• Draft non-compete, non-solicitation and confidentiality agreements for clients in all industries.
• Advise clients on the enforceability of non-compete agreements when hiring individuals with non-competes with former employers.
• Advise clients on the enforceability of their non-competes with departing employees who threaten violation of their agreement, or who are acting in violation of their agreement.
• Advise executives, sales personnel and owners on enforceability of non-compete or non-solicitation agreements when looking to move to a new employer or start a new business venture.
• Draft cease-and-desist letters on behalf of clients seeking to enforce non-compete and non-solicitation agreements against departing employees in a pre-litigation setting.

Main Contact

Show all Non-Competes professionals