Yesterday Rob Radcliff over at the Smooth Transitions Law Blog wrote a post about a lawsuit filed by an attorney against the recruiter that placed him at his new law firm. In essence, the attorney alleged that the recruiter made representations that she was independent (and not tied to any particular law firm) and fraudulently convinced the
Physician Noncompetes: Part 2 Reasonableness Of The Buy-Out Amount
In Part 1 of this two-part series, I examined the temporal, geographic and scope of activity restrictions for Texas physician noncompetition provisions. Texas law provides another unique feature required only in agreements with doctors. Noncompetes with physicians must include a provision that permits the doctor to buy-out of the noncompete for a reasonable amount. The buy-out can be determined at
Physician Noncompetes: Part 1 Reasonable Limitations On Time And Geographic Scope
I’ve written before about the unique requirements that must be included in a noncompetition agreement with a Texas physician. The increasing likelihood that a Texas court will enforce a noncompetition agreement against any departing employee increases the importance that physicians and practice groups take great care in negotiating and drafting agreements with proper limitations as
When Does Preparing to Compete Become Unlawful Competition?
In Texas, at-will employees can prepare to compete against their current employers without violating the common law duty of loyalty. Determining whether the line between lawful preparation to compete and unlawful competition begins is sometimes gray. (See post). A recent case from the Houston Court of Appeals provides a good summary of what an at-will
More Thoughts on Marsh USA v. Cook: Fundamental Changes in Texas Noncompete Law
I’ve had a chance to reread and digest the Marsh USA opinions over the weekend. For those looking for easy ways to set aside or void noncompetition agreements in Texas, Marsh USA is strike three. (Strike 1, Strike 2). The Texas Supreme Court has, in the past five years, taken Texas from
BREAKING NEWS: Texas Supreme Court Issues Opinion Enforcing Non-Compete Supported by Stock Options and Goodwill
The Texas Supreme Court has issued an opinion this morning holding that noncompetition agreements supported by stock options and good will are not unenforceable as a matter of law. I previewed this case here. As I have time to digest the majority, concurring and dissenting opinions, I’ll provide more thoughts on this case. You
Competitors Beware — No-Hire Agreements May Draw Unwanted Attention from the Feds
Last year the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice filed suit against several technology sector companies over their mutual agreements not to recruit each other’s employees through the use of cold-calling. The DOJ contended that such agreements (sometimes called no-switching or no-poaching agreements) had the effect of reducing competition for high tech employees; limited employees’ opportunities to find
Dallas Court Strikes Physician Noncompete that Lacked Buy-Out Provision
I’ve previously written about the specific requirements that must be included in a covenant not to compete with a licensed physician to make the restrictive covenant enforceable. The Dallas Court of Appeals recently affirmed a trial court’s decision that a noncompetition agreement between a surgical practice and several limited-partner physicians was unenforceable because the agreement lacked one of the statutorily required
Supreme Court of Texas Grants Review in Stock-Options Noncompete Case
Last summer, I detailed the Dallas Court of Appeals’ decision in Marsh USA, Inc. v. Cook where the court held a noncompetition agreement supported only by stock-options as consideration was unenforceable. You can read that post here. Today, the Supreme Court of Texas announced that it would hear the appeal from the Dallas Court of Appeals. You can
Competing versus Preparing to Compete
I subscribe to about 20 very good labor and employment law blogs. This week, one of the blogs I follow posted a good summary on the employee duty of loyalty and what activities are proper and improper for an employee to engage in who is about to start a venture that competes with his or her current employer.
Jon Hyman’s post