Agreement With Development

Study your competition. Write up the agreement. Have your agreement reviewed by a legal professional. Present the non-compete contract to your employee. If everyone is satisfied, sign and date the agreement.

On average, non-compete cases cost $10,000 or less. Many times an employer is seeking an injunction, which if the employer loses may result in a quicker resolution. Many times the issues are less factual and more legal. Legal issues require less discovery, which can be the most costly part of litigation.

In California, however, covenants not to compete are almost always not enforceable. California state law says that a covenant that restrains someone from engaging in a lawful profession, trade, or business is void.

In contrast, in many industries, a Non-Compete with a duration of 6-months will be considered reasonable, and therefore enforceable. The general rule is that the duration of the agreement should not exceed the time reasonably necessary to protect the employer's legitimate business interests.

A traditional non-compete stops an employee from working for a competitor in a certain geographical area for a certain amount of time after leaving the company. A non-solicitation agreement prevents an employee from poaching customers, contracts or other employees from the company that first hired them.

The value of a non-competition agreement is represented by the present value of the cash flows that would be lost if the covenanter were to compete, adjusted for the effective probability that the covenanter would compete, and compete successfully.

The seller's ability to compete. The seller's intent to compete. The seller's economic resources. Potential damage posed by the seller's competition. The seller's expertise in the industry in question.

What is a noncompete agreement? Keep the group small. Keep the restrictions reasonable and narrow. Provide consideration for the agreement. Get it in writing. Prepare multiple versions if necessary. Concede choice of law/forum. Provisions to include.

Negotiate the non-compete Outside of failing to read the contract, the worst mistake employees make is being afraid to negotiate its terms. Remember, employers can't force you to sign a non-compete, so use that as leverage to remove terms that are unfavorable.