The Non-Compete & Trade Secret Practice Group at Proskauer Rose LLP advises companies on the intricacies of trade secret protection and non-compete agreements. For more information about this practice area, contact:
When your employees leave, do your trade secrets and customer relationships leave with them? Should you require some or all of your workforce to sign non-compete agreements? If you do, will the courts enforce them? On the other side of the coin, what legal risks do you run by hiring a competitor's employee who is bound by a non-compete?
These are the kinds of issues addressed by Proskauer Rose LLP's Non-Compete & Trade Secret Practice. The NC&TS Group focuses on the complex and evolving intersection of trade secret protection and employee movement in the Information Age. Our representation, which includes assisting clients in both litigated and non-litigated matters, in court and in various ADR settings, and runs the gamut, including:
- Day-to-day counseling on the hiring and firing of employees possessing confidential information and customer relationships;
- Drafting confidentiality, non-compete and other agreements, along with policy manuals on information ownership and protection;
- High stakes litigation involving claims of employee-raiding and theft of trade secrets.
The law in this area varies from state to state and, in most jurisdictions, the resolution of a non-compete case will turn on "all the facts and circumstances." This makes predicting and planning difficult and puts a premium on actual experience in litigating such cases. Reading reported cases alone will likely yield little insight into what a court will do in your case or with your non-compete.
Overall, the nationwide trend favors enforcement of non-competes and other restrictive covenants. This means that most companies should at least consider requiring some or all employees to agree to restrictions on post-employment competitive activities. On the flip side, it also means that extraordinary consideration and care should be taken before hiring someone in violation of a non-compete because, even if ultimately not enforced, the costs of litigating the dispute can far exceed the value of the new hire.
Proskauer's NC&TS Group is chaired by Steven Kayman, a litigation partner in the firm's New York office. Steve has handled literally hundreds of trade secret/non-compete matters and has also lectured and written extensively in the field. Most of the firm's other domestic offices are represented by the group's other members, each of whom brings significant experience from another practice area, including Corporate, Executive Compensation, Labor and Intellectual Property.
We live in a global, knowledge-driven marketplace and in an era of heightened competition. For most companies, success and even survival will depend in large measure on the organization's ability to protect and build its intellectual property, human capital and important client relationships. The members of Proskauer's NC&TS Practice Group have assisted a wide variety of clients, from all sectors of the economy, to accomplish these critical business objectives.
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