So, What is a Non-Compete?
What is a Non-Solicitation?
Specific Business Reason
- Trade secrets such as employee knowledge about how you run your business;
- Client lists;
- Time and money spent in training an employee, (It is a legitimate concern to invest in employee training and development for them to then leave and use those specialized skills to compete against your company).
OK, Let’s Be Reasonable
What about the Geographic Scope?
Why Should We Put These in Writing?
So why do we need these Restrictive Covenants in writing? Well, most importantly it makes it easier to protect your business assets. It is going to be much harder to prove foul play if an employee or independent contractor steals your clients or trade secrets and you don’t have any contracts in writing. It gets messy and it costs extra money because now you have to hire attorneys and go through the whole litigation process proving that they actually stole your trade secrets and used them inappropriately. Not only that but you have to be able to prove that it ultimately affected you in a negative way. If you can put it in writing, you are steps ahead in protecting your business. Once you get these contracts written up, having your employees sign them is key to protecting your assets and business.