Speaking Engagement

Practical Tips for Drafting Noncompete Agreements and Related Restrictive Covenants

Blank Rome partner Leigh Ann Buziak will serve as a panelist at Practising Law Institute’s (“PLI”) Noncompetes and Restrictive Covenants 2023: What Every Lawyer, Human Resources Professional, and Key Strategic Decisionmaker Should Know, being held in New York, New York, on Thursday, September 28, 2023, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

Noncompete laws around the country are changing. The federal government is getting involved. How can your clients protect themselves? How will you advise them? This unique full-day program offers a deep dive discussion with experts who will explain how to manage through these changes.

Imagine that a client’s key employees just left to go to a competitor in violation of a noncompete. Or the client is that competitor and has just received a cease-and-desist letter demanding that it terminate the employee. Or a client is that employee. Or it is not just one key employee, but a group of employees in a mass lift-out. What do you do?

Noncompete agreements and similar restrictive covenants help companies protect their trade secrets, customer relationships, and other recognized legitimate business interests. But, noncompete laws vary state by state, ranging from bans in California, Oklahoma, and North Dakota, to strong, pro-enforcement policies in Florida. And, while public opinion, evolving state legislation, emerging federal regulation, and trends in judicial review and enforcement are moving toward greater limitations on the use of these agreements, the risks posed by employees who are not subject to restrictive covenants is increasing.

Understanding the changing landscape and its complications and implications is nothing short of critical—particularly for companies engaged in business across state lines.

Leigh Ann’s session, “Practical Tips for Drafting Noncompete Agreements and Related Restrictive Covenants,” will take place from 11:30 to 12:30 p.m.

ABOUT THE SESSION

This panel will explore the fundamentals of drafting restrictive covenants. Topics include:

• When to ask an employee to sign a noncompete
• Interstate implications of noncompetes for employees across state lines
• Options available to address employees working in other states
• When and how to use forum selection and choice of law clauses, and when they won’t help
• Types and appropriate scope of restrictions for enforceable agreements for types and levels of employees
• Why and how to maximize enforceability for each type of agreement and level of employee
• Common drafting traps and how to avoid them
• The interplay between geographic breadth and business description, especially in the digital age of remote and hybrid workplaces

Panelists:

• Leigh Ann Buziak, Blank Rome LLP
• Steven M. Kayman, Rottenberg Lipman Rich, P.C.
• David S. Sanders, Foley & Lardner LLP
• Lauren C. Schaefer, ArentFox Schiff LLP

Other program sessions include:

• Protecting Your Business When You Have a Remote Workforce in a Changing Legislative Landscape
• A Deep Dive into State Law Changes and Their Implications
• Two Sides of the Same Coin: Managing a Key Employee Departure and Critical Hire
• “The Key to the Case”—Strategies for Success for TROs and Preliminary Injunctions, Whether You are Seeking or Defending
• Ethical Issues in Noncompete Matters: Fulfilling Obligations to Clients and the Court While Avoiding Traps for the Unwary

CLE credit may be available.

PLI is a nonprofit learning organization dedicated to keeping attorneys and professionals at the forefront of knowledge and expertise, as well as preparing them to fulfill their pro bono responsibilities.

For more information, please visit the program webpage.