Friday, Eldredge & Clark provides strategic counsel to employers, business owners, and executives in drafting, enforcing, and defending covenants not to compete and other restrictive covenants. Our attorneys help clients protect trade secrets, confidential information, and customer relationships through well-crafted agreements that strike a balance between business needs and legal enforceability. We advise companies across industries, including healthcare, retail, and manufacturing, on best practices for implementing non-compete, non-solicitation, and confidentiality provisions. When disputes arise, our experienced litigators are skilled in obtaining or resisting injunctions, navigating time-sensitive disputes, and protecting our clients’ competitive interests in state and federal courts.
Covenants Not to Compete
Comprehensive legal guidance on covenants not to compete, from prevention and drafting to litigation and enforcement.
Areas of Focus
Drafting Covenants
In drafting a covenant not to compete for your company, we structure it precisely so that your provision of confidential and proprietary information during an employee’s time with you is balanced by securing the agreement to refrain from working for a competitor for a certain period of time, from soliciting or serving your customers or recruiting your other employees, and from divulging the information you provided during employment. You can obtain our help either to prevent the disclosure of sensitive information and provision of services for stated periods of time or to secure all the rights you are entitled to from your employees.
Our counsel is often proactive, as we help you craft effective covenants and educate your employees about the importance of complying with them.
Handling Disputes
Disputes over covenants not to compete often pit employers against each other. We’ve handled many of these cases in courts around the country, and are skilled at securing and resisting TROs and injunctions. We regularly litigate non-compete claims on unfair competition or misappropriation of proprietary information or trade secrets. We regularly obtain injunctive relief enforcing employers’ rights or successfully resist injunction requests when a former employer alleges our clients’ new hire is violating an agreement.
- Comprehensive Counsel: Guidance on drafting, reviewing, and enforcing non-compete, non-solicitation, and confidentiality agreements tailored to your business needs.
- Protection of Business Interests: Safeguarding proprietary information, trade secrets, and client relationships when key employees depart or competitors hire.
- Proactive Risk Management: Helping employers structure compliant and enforceable covenants while educating employees on their obligations.
- Litigation Experience: Skilled in securing and resisting injunctions, TROs, and other court remedies in fast-moving non-compete disputes.
- Industry-Wide Representation: Trusted by clients in healthcare, retail, manufacturing, and other sectors to protect competitive advantages and minimize legal exposure.
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