Practice Contacts
We understand that unfair competition challenges the very core of a company’s business by putting at risk a company’s customer relationships and competitively sensitive information. Given current trends of high employee turnover and mobility, it is important for companies to have well-drafted, enforceable restrictive covenants, and counsel who can aggressively and effectively enforce them through litigation. Our attorneys advise clients, across industries, on how to avoid unfair competition lawsuits in the first place and, when necessary, litigate in federal and state court to protect their interests and their business. Our extensive experience in this area of the law allows us to add value and insights that help our clients maximize the protection available to them.
Our attorneys have broad experience in all aspects of unfair competition counseling and litigation, including:
- Drafting restrictive covenants - non-competes, non-solicitation clauses, and non-disclosure clauses - tailored to our clients’ particular needs and industries, to give employers the best chance of enforcing the agreements should they be litigated.
- Filing emergency injunction litigation when there is a need to take quick and effective action to shut down ongoing or threatened customer solicitation, information disclosures, or other conduct that could seriously harm our clients’ interests.
- Counseling clients who are considering hiring an employee who is subject to a restrictive covenant with a current or former employer, so as to minimize the risk that they could be sued for inducing a breach of the restrictive covenant or unwittingly being party to disclosures of protected information.
- Helping employers protect their interests when they do not have restrictive covenants in place, by using trade secret doctrines, common law legal duties, consumer fraud statutes, and other creative theories.
- Counseling clients as to how they can manage and administer their businesses and information so as to increase the likelihood that their confidential and trade secret information will be protected.
- Advising multi-state employers as to the law of different states that applies to restrictive covenant and unfair competition issues.
- Providing counseling regarding complex restrictive covenant issues such as rolling out restrictive covenants for an existing workforce, or determining whether and how to compensate employees for restrictive covenants where consideration is required.
- Advising clients regarding unfair competition in non-employee settings such as the sale or purchase of a business.
- Working with members of our intellectual property team to incorporate the appropriate protections for patents, trademarks, and copyrights and litigating other intellectual property theories which can arise in unfair competition cases.
News & Press Releases
- March 18, 2020
- February 24, 2020
- February 24, 2020
- Crain's Chicago Business, October 25, 2018
- Law360, May 28, 2018
- November 17, 2017
- October 27, 2017
- Crain's Chicago Business, September 15, 2017
- Equality Illinois, August 1, 2017
- Chicago Tribune; Chicago Sun Times, March 5, 2017
- October 2016
- Crain's Chicago Business, September 10, 2016
- August 15, 2016
- The American Lawyer, August 2016
- Equality Illinois, July 8, 2016
- Above the Law, April 18, 2016
- Above the Law, April 13, 2016
Blog
Labor & Employment Law Update: www.laborandemploymentlawupdate.com
Alerts
- December 22, 2020
- December 22, 2020
- December 16, 2020
- December 3, 2020
- November 12, 2020
- October 26, 2020
- October 22, 2020
- September 14, 2020
- September 10, 2020
- August 31, 2020
- July 24, 2020
- July 2, 2020
- July 1, 2020
- June 23, 2020
- May 27, 2020
- May 26, 2020
- May 18, 2020
- May 18, 2020
- May 14, 2020
- May 14, 2020
- May 11, 2020
- May 8, 2020
- May 5, 2020
- May 5, 2020
- April 30, 2020
- April 28, 2020
- April 28, 2020
- April 23, 2020
- April 22, 2020
- April 17, 2020
- April 17, 2020
- April 13, 2020
- April 10, 2020
- April 7, 2020
- April 6, 2020
- April 4, 2020
- April 3, 2020
- April 1, 2020
- March 31, 2020
- March 31, 2020
- March 30, 2020
- March 30, 2020
- March 27, 2020
- March 27, 2020
- March 27, 2020
- March 26, 2020
- March 25, 2020
- March 24, 2020
- March 24, 2020
- March 24, 2020
- March 24, 2020
- March 23, 2020
- March 22, 2020
- March 20, 2020
- March 20, 2020
- March 19, 2020
- March 18, 2020
- March 15, 2020
- March 3, 2017
- May 18, 2016
Publications
- Chamber Dispatch, February 20, 2020
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce, 2019
- Illinois State Bar Association Diversity Matters Newsletter , June 2017
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce, 2016
Presentations & Events
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce, Webcast, February 23, 2021
- Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, Webcast, February 16, 2021
- Crystal Lake Chamber of Commerce; Crystal Lake, IL, February 11, 2021
- Berwyn Development Corporation, Webcast, February 2, 2021
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce; Webcast, January 28, 2021
- Employee Benefits Association of Northern Illinois, Webcast, January 27, 2021
- Rockford Chamber of Commerce, Webcast, January 13, 2021
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce, Webcast, December 4, 2020
- 36th Annual Illinois Public Sector Labor Relations Law Conference, Webcast, December 4, 2020
- Associated Builders and Contractors’ Legal and Policy Forecast Conference; Webcast, December 3, 2020
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce, Webcast, December 2, 2020
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce, Webcast, November 18, 2020
- Waubonsee Community College, Webcast, November 11, 2020
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce, Webcast, November 10, 2020
- Lorman Education Services, Webcast, November 3, 2020
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce; Decatur, IL, October 29, 2020
- SmithAmundsen, Webcast, October 29, 2020
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce, Webcast, October 28, 2020
- SmithAmundsen, Webcast, October 22, 2020
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce, Webcast, October 21, 2020
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce, Webcast, October 21, 2020
- Chicago Healthcare Risk Management Society, Webcast, October 15, 2020
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce, Webcast, October 13, 2020
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce, Webcast, October 9, 2020
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce, Webcast, October 8, 2020
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce, Webcast, October 6, 2020
- Chicago Healthcare Risk Management Society, Webcast, September 24, 2020
- Clear Law Institute, Webcast, September 16, 2020
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce; Marion, IL, September 16, 2020
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce, Webcast, September 15, 2020
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce, Webcast, September 10, 2020
- Finishing Contractors Association of Illinois, Webcast, September 1, 2020
- Lorman Education Services, Webcast, August 27, 2020
- SmithAmundsen, Webcast, August 19, 2020
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce, Webcast, August 17, 2020
- SmithAmundsen, Webcast, May 27, 2020
- The Chamber of Manitowoc County; Webcast, May 19, 2020
- Aurora Regional Chamber of Commerce, Webcast, April 15, 2020
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce, Webinar, April 9, 2020
- Associated Builders and Contractors of Illinois, Webcast, April 9, 2020
- Clear Law Institute, Webcast, April 6, 2020
- American Bus Association & USLAW Network, Webcast, April 3, 2020
- Presented by SmithAmundsen COVID-19 Task Force, March 18, 2020
- Lorman Education Services; Webcast, 2019
- IL Chamber of Commerce New Laws Forum; Lisle, IL, December 4, 2019
- SmithAmundsen; Lombard, IL, September 25, 2019
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce, Seminar; Chicago, IL 60606, September 19, 2019
- Lorman Education Services; Webinar, September 18, 2019
- SmithAmundsen, Webinar, August 21, 2019
- Finishing Contractors Association of Illinois; Webinar, August 8, 2019
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce; Webinar, July 23, 2019
- Chicago, IL; Chicago-Kent College of Law, June 4, 2019
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce, Webinar, December 5, 2018
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce, Webinar, July 12, 2018
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce; Glen Ellyn, IL, February 27, 2018
- SmithAmundsen Seminar, Chicago, IL; Webinar, February 21, 2018
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce; Webinar, August 8, 2017
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce; Tinley Park, IL, July 27, 2017
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce; Springfield, IL, July 19, 2017
- Illinois Chamber of Commece; Effingham, IL, July 13, 2017
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce; Webinar, June 14, 2017
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce; Glen Ellyn, IL, May 31, 2017
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce; Naperville, IL, April 27, 2017
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce, Seminar; Glen Ellyn, IL, April 11, 2017
- SmithAmundsen, Seminar; Chicago, IL, February 16, 2017
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce; Webinar, January 31, 2017
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce, Seminar; Peoria, IL, January 26, 2017
- National Business Institute, Seminar; Chicago, IL, December 5, 2016
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce, Seminar, November 30, 2016
- National Automatic Merchandising Association, Webinar, November 15, 2016
- SmithAmundsen Chicago, IL; Webinar, November 10, 2016
- Illinois Chamber of Commerce, Effingham, IL, July 7, 2016
- SmithAmundsen, Webinar, June 22, 2016