27. Non-Competition Agreements
"When elephants fight, only the grass gets hurt."
Swahili Proverb
i. Before Signing
- NL 1: “Non-Compete Non-Sense” – What to Do if Asked to Sign One
- NL 2: “Your Best Time to Beat a Non-Compete”
- NL 3: Injunction – Key Words & Phrases
- NL 4: Non-Compete or Non-Solicit? Use “C.A.T.C.H.” to Understand It
- NL 5: Restrictive Covenant – Key Words & Phrases
- NL 6: You Must Protect Your “B.O.B.” (Book Of Business, That Is)
- NL 7: “Employer Ask You to Sign an Agreement? Ask Your Employer to Pay Your Legal Cost”
- QA 1: “Administrator in a Doctor’s Office. Told I must sign a Non-Compete Agreement. Anything I can do?”
- QA 2: “Sign this Non-Competition Agreement, or Leave” – Is that Legal?
- QA 3: Injunction – Key Words & Phrases
- QA 4: Restrictive Covenant – Key Words & Phrases
ii. Is it Enforceable?
- NL 1: Voluntary – Key Words & Phrases
- QA 1: “Are my relatives and friends legally obligated by a non-compete agreement I signed?”
- QA 2: “Are non-compete agreements binding on independent contractors?”
- QA 3: “If I am not paid commissions due me, is my non-compete still valid?”
- QA 4: “If tied to an unpaid bonus, is a non-compete enforceable?”
- QA 5: “My former employer says he will waive my non-compete, but only if I repay him two months salary. Is this extortion?”
- QA 6: “The Three Different Ways Non-Compete’s are Enforced”
- QA 7: “Can I compete with my former employer without getting sued?”
- QA 8: “If an employee’s position is eliminated is a non-compete still enforceable?”
- QA 9: “Is a non-compete agreement enforceable after being let go without cause?”
- QA 10: If I get nothing in return, is my non-compete enforceable?
- QA 11: Voluntary – Key Words & Phrases
- QA 12: “Must an employee be paid to sign a non-compete?”
iii. Non-Solicitation and Other Restrictions
- NL 1: Non-Compete or Non-Solicit? Use “C.A.T.C.H.” to Understand It
- QA 1: “Can I do work ‘on the side’ so long as it doesn’t violate the non-compete I signed?”
- QA 2: “If my former employer closes, and opens a new company, is my non-compete (or other contracts) valid?”
- QA 3: “Should non-solicit clauses be treated the same as non-compete clauses?”
- QA 4: Prospective Customer or Client
- QA 5: “Can an employer require you get its prior approval for a side job or a side business?”
- QA 6: “Can I Work for a Licensee or Vendor of my Former Employer?”
iv. Garden Leave
v. General
- NL 1: “Hidden Handcuffs” – Watch out for Buried and Disguised Non-Compete Agreements
- NL 2: How to Defeat a Non-Compete: Ten Effective Defenses
- NL 3: Non-Compete or Non-Solicit? Use “C.A.T.C.H.” to Understand It
- NL 4: “I Am Not Restricted” Clause in Offer Letters – Potential Roadblock
- NL 5: “Injunctive Relief” Clauses in Contracts – What Do They Mean?
- QA 1: “Can a company selectively enforce non-compete agreements?”
- QA 2: “Can a non-compete agreement require that New York law applies even if the company is not in New York?”
- QA 3: “Can an employer pick and choose who must sign a non-compete?”
- QA 4: “Can I fight a non-compete dispute in Court without an attorney?”
- QA 5: “Can I sue my former employer for ‘interfering’ with my new job?”
- QA 6: “How should an employer treat an employee who works for a competitor?”
- QA 7: “Can I compete with my former employer without getting sued?”
- QA 8: “Does leaving an employer, and then returning, relieve me from a non-compete agreement I signed the first time I was hired?”
- QA 9: “Is there a way I can ‘get out of’ the non-compete agreement I signed?”
- QA 10: In “Non-Competition,” What Constitutes “Competition?”
- QA 11: “If I signed a non-compete / non-solicit agreement, does that stop me from working for a customer of my former employer?”
“If you live your life the right way,
your later years will not be a winter,
but rather a harvest.”