Use Arbitration to Protect Non-Competes

It's a familiar story: an employee bound by a non-competition covenant is recruited by a competitor in a jurisdiction that refuses to enforce the covenant, and a a race to the courthouse ensues. The employee files a declaratory-judgement action in the unfriendly jurisdiction to invalidate the non-compete, and the former employer files a competing enforcement action in its home state. With two parallel lawsuits, the results are far from ideal. At best, it's a costly jurisdictional fight with competing motions in different courts. At worst, the non-compete is invalidated.

Eprinted and posted with permission to Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P.from Today's General Counsel