Event Detail

MCLEAN, VA—Womble Carlyle attorney Tom Sawyer speaking on “Employee Defection and the Multi-jurisdictional Employer: Drafting and Enforcing Non-competes in a Disparate Legal Environment” at the WMACCA Employment Forum Luncheon.
 

The WMACCA Employment Forum takes place from noon-2 p.m. on Thursday, March 31^st at Maggiano’s Little Italy, 2001 International Drive in McLean, Va.

Problems in using form-based restrictive covenants often don't become apparent until after the employee has left and started working for a competitor. Technology companies, government contractors, and other multi-jurisdictional employers are learning the hard way what departed employees and their attorneys already know: Not all states enforce restrictive covenants the same way.

Some states, such as Georgia and Texas, are notorious for strictly construing non-competes. Other states, including Virginia, do not allow “blue penciling” of overbroad non-competes. California, where many technology companies and government contractors have offices, ban employment-based non-competes altogether. With the rise in non-compete litigation, courts are increasingly questioning the enforceability of choice-of-law and forum selection provisions, and multi-jurisdictional employers are particularly at risk of having their restrictive covenants held to be unenforceable under another state's law.

This panel will bring you up-to-date on the recent trends affecting multi-jurisdictional non-competes and other restrictive covenants.

Tom Sawyer’s practice is focused on advising technology, government contracting, and other business clients on employee defection matters, including non-compete, non-solicitation, fiduciary duty, tortious interference, conspiracy, trade secret, and related unfair competition issues. He practice in Womble Carlyle’s Northern Virginia office.