Great businesses know that great opportunities come from every challenge, and the challenges from the global pandemic have been substantial. Employers are furloughing and laying off employees, and yet, other sectors of the economy are capitalizing on the uncertainty in the labor market. In fact, somewhat counter-intuitively, many companies are using this time to make big moves and hire top talent from the competition. Employees are also using this unconventional moment to reconsider career paths and trajectories, and to shape where and how they want to work in the future. This crisis-turned-opportunity has put a spotlight on the risk to the things that matter most to a business: investments in confidential information, research and development, customer relationships, goodwill, and specialized training provided to employees. Businesses considering hiring top talent with high-level access to these assets should proceed with taking advantage of the opportunity. However, like everything else in the global pandemic, companies should do so carefully and safely, considering the following issues carefully in making their plans.

Assess All Access, All the Time.

There are many ways in which companies may protect intellectual property and business relationships, including restrictive covenants like non-competes and customer non-solicitation restrictions. These types of agreements are restraints on trade that are traditionally disfavored at law. Courts sitting in equity, however, have designed procedures and rules under which companies can enforce restrictive covenants or to protect trade secrets in court. Typically, this occurs through a fast-moving injunction proceeding. The net result may be that an employee is restricted from working for a new employer or soliciting their former customers for the period of the restriction, or until circumstances change.

This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.

To view this content, please continue to their sites.

Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Why am I seeing this?

LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.

For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]