One City Built to Last

It’s the type of legal issue on which
Chapman, a business lawyer affiliated
with Lum, Drasco & Positan, LLC
in Roseland, NJ, spends a fair amount
of his professional time.
Chapman knows that that legal interpretation
and enforcement of post
employment-non-compete agreements.
Legal interpretation and enforcement of
post-employment non-compete agreements
is an area whose yearly case files
have increased more than 60 percent
nationwide since 2002, when the Wall
Street Journal began tracking this specific
legal segment. Some non-compete
experts contend even those numbers
may be low because cases settled out
of court are not tallied. Chapman pinpoints
technology as a leading culprit
for this flurry of increased activity.
“There certainly is more litigation
of this kind because in the computer
age it is much easier for an employee
to download and take with them the
entire data set of who the company’s
clients and customers are, as well as details
of financial arrangements the company
has with its clients, customers and
vendors – and also the company’s strategic
plans,” Chapman explains. “All of
that is readily accessible to employees
on their own workstations. Gaining
that information does not require a
midnight raid by the employee. It is
just far too easy for an employee to
leave with a great deal of the company’s
confidential information.”
In Chapman’s judgment, appropriate
post-employment non-compete
agreements afford protection for both
the employer and the departing employee.
In his many years as a business
attorney, Chapman said that he’s seen
both sides of this issue.
He has concerns for employers
when a company and a key employee
– such as a driving force sales person
representing 40 percent of the company’s
revenue – part ways.
“If that person leaves with 40 percent
of the business, that company is
going to be mortally wounded,” he
noted. “On the other hand, employees
should be able to make career changes
without unreasonable restrictions.
Non-compete agreements restricting
the employment activities of a former
worker for more than one year often
are considered too restrictive.”
“There are a lot of moving parts to
non-compete agreements, but the target
is to make them fair and reasonable
for both the employee and the company
based on the type of industry they
work in and the level of competition
within their marketplace,” Chapman
emphasized. “No agreements should
be the same. It is best if they are tailor-made
for each instance.”
Learn more about Chapman online at
www.superlawyer-nj.com
www.lumlaw.com
THE SUIT MAGAZINE p.41