We help clients take proactive steps to protect their trade secrets and protected business information so they can keep their business running smoothly.
UB Greensfelder attorneys help companies and related parties across the country protect and defend themselves against employers who have violated restrictive covenants. We also advise client considering prospective employees subject to restrictive covenants.
How We Help
We assist securities firms, financial institutions, health care and medical staffing companies, insurance companies, franchisees, and franchisors, among others. We have litigated well over 300 restrictive covenant cases and have pursued and obtained injunctions in all U.S. contiguous states.
Restrictive Covenants
We help clients create the necessary policies to protect trade secrets and strengthen and enforce their existing policies. We formulate guidelines that protect the business now and provide the necessary legal foundation should an issue arise in the future.
We assist with drafting and instituting trade secret and data management policies that will provide your employees with a clear understanding of proper access, scope, and use of your business intelligence. Additionally, the use of restrictive covenants in employment contracts can provide clear instructions to and set necessary privacy expectations for employees, making it clear that the business will not tolerate the misuse or theft of business intelligence.
Hiring and Recruiting
While restrictive covenant agreements can protect relationships and trade secrets, it is important to consider the potential risks of bringing over employees from competitors who are subject to such agreements. Our attorneys provide proactive advice to help clients avoid litigation and put them in a more favorable position if they (or their new employee) are sued. We help employers ask the right questions during the recruiting process to structure onboarding policies and practices to best protect their interests to avoid litigation or minimize exposure if litigation is looming.
We also advise on the importance of ensuring new employees do not – purposely or inadvertently – retain materials from a previous employer. This common occurrence can lead to costly lawsuits if proper precautions are not taken.
Temporary Restraining Orders (TROs) and Litigation
Employment relationships don’t last forever, and the talent you hired a few years ago may be moving on. The departure is bad enough, yet when they leave and take business trade secrets with them or begin to contact your customers, the right response is critical and time is of the essence. Every day that goes by, the business could lose customers and the ability to recover damages diminishes. If you wait to act, the former employee could point to that delay as proof that the situation was not urgent and that the claims are unsubstantiated.
Working quickly on clients’ behalf, we evaluate the situation or claim and make timely recommendations, sometimes using potential court action as leverage. The quick and accurate evaluation of the situation and associated claim is the key to moving forward successfully.
