Non-Compete Agreements
Today more than ever, employers seek enforcement of non-compete agreements
These agreements, often mistakenly thought to be unenforceable superfluous details of a contract, can in fact prevent you from working for your new employer
In drafting and enforcing these non-compete agreements, corporations rely on lawyers that they have retained for this specific purpose. As a result, executives and professionals across the Chicagoland area are coming to understand the importance of having any non-compete agreement reviewed by their own legal counsel. Ms. Major has been recognized as an authority on restrictive covenants, quoted in the Chicago Tribune on recent developments in non-compete law.
Attorney Ruth Major regularly reviews non-compete agreements on behalf of her clients. She reviews these agreements at all stages: pre-employment negotiation, during the course of the employer-employee relationship and after the relationship has ended. Having served as both in-house and outside counsel to blue chip corporations herself, Ms. Major understands how corporate lawyers think. She knows how to analyze non-compete agreements and provide you with the information you need to make the best decisions in a high-stakes corporate environment.
Whether you wish to negotiate a prospective non-compete agreement or litigate one already in force, we can help
Ms. Major ensures that your decisions will be informed decisions instead of decisions you are forced into making because you were blindsided by an ill-considered non-compete agreement.
Ms. Major advises her clients in a number of circumstances involving non-compete agreements:
Your past employer may be seeking to prevent you from working for your current or future employer. In this situation, Ms. Major can advise you as to the plausibility of your former employer's claim. She will also advise you as to how to best address the issue with a future employer.
Ms. Major will advise you should you wish to compete with your former employer despite the existence of a non-compete agreement. Ms. Major will counsel you as to the parameters of your non-compete agreement, how to prepare for competing with your former employer in light of the existing agreement, and what you should and should not do to best protect yourself and maximize the likelihood of your business success. Together, you and Ms. Major will exhaustively consider the detailed scenarios involved in competing with your former employer.
Ms. Major also counsels her clients with respect to trade secret issues and non-compete agreements. Her advice takes into consideration the stricter rules applied in Illinois because of the Illinois Trade Secrets Act. She can help you understand how to best deal with confidential information that may be in your possession.
Attorneys at our firm have represented clients in state and federal courts and in arbitration proceedings, both enforcing non-compete, non-disclosure and non-solicitation agreements and challenging the enforceability of such agreements.