Category Archives: Non-Competes

Life without non-competes isn’t necessarily sunny (even in California)

As an attorney who represents executives who have had to sign non-compete agreements as a condition of employment, I confess to a general dislike of non-competes. They impede worker mobility and career growth, and are often an unnecessarily restrictive way … Continue reading

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Jimmy John’s Non-Compete a Non-Starter in Texas

Executives are used to signing Covenants Not to Compete, and unless they’re overly broad, they’re often enforceable in Texas. Executives, after all, typically receive a fair amount of consideration in exchange for the potential future restraint of trade: they’re often highly paid, privy to a wealth of confidential information about their employers, and often receive specialized training.

The same cannot be said about the person who makes or delivers sandwiches. Not unless sandwich-making got a lot more complicated and well-paid in the last few years (and something tells me it hasn’t). Continue reading

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Non-Compete Tips for New Texas Executives

Every few weeks, there’s some new story about businesses large and small relocating from California to Texas. So if you’re an executive at one of those companies, welcome to Texas! While you’re learning how to say things like “y’all” and … Continue reading

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Texas Monthly v. New York Times: Where are the damages?

The Texas journalism world has been abuzz over a lawsuit filed by Texas Monthly magazine against The New York Times, over The Times‘ luring away of Texas Monthly editor in chief Jake Silverstein to serve as editor of The Times … Continue reading

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Leaving But Not Yet Gone: Notes from the ABA’s Labor & Employment Midwinter Meeting

One of the perennial issues executive employment lawyers handle is what to do when an executive has accepted a job offer at a competitor but hasn’t left his or her current employer yet. As I found out last weekend when … Continue reading

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A Ban on Noncompetes? Don’t Expect One in Texas

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has come out in support of banning covenants not to compete, claiming that they stifle innovation and send jobs and entrepreneurs fleeing to other states. He says companies would be protected against trade secret theft if … Continue reading

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Would Doc Rivers’ Non-Compete Fly in Texas?

The NBA just approved the trade of Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers to the Los Angeles Clippers in return for Boston’s getting a first-round draft pick in 2015. This is obviously big news in the basketball world—Rivers is now reported … Continue reading

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Forced Out and Bound by a Non-Compete

As a lawyer representing executives in non-compete disputes, I have always found covenants not to compete to be, to put it mildly, troublesome. To have such a patently anti-competitive tool in a free market system flies in the face of … Continue reading

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Saving Face in the Face of a Demotion

The saga of the reported demotion of Ann Curry, the “Today” show anchor, causes me to consider how high-profile executives can save face and prosper after suffering a similar fate. Although Curry’s ordeal is being played out in the national … Continue reading

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Negotiating Executive Compensation in an ‘Occupy’ Era

To follow the news, it’s tempting to think that a good chunk of the country’s financial woes can be blamed on high executive compensation. The latest incarnation of that resentment is the Occupy movement, as well as the “say-on-pay” provisions … Continue reading

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