Restrictive Covenants in Employment Contracts

The idea for this book came about following the International Bar Association's annual conference that was held in Prague in September of 2005. One of the sessions at this conference co-chaired by Pascale Lagesse and Mariann Norrbom was entitled "Restrictive covenants in employment contracts and other mechanisms for protection of corporate confidential information." International panelists consisted of members of the legal profession, corporate representatives and a court justice. The discussions focused on key issues and the concerns companies have when seeking to protect their confidential information, and insight was given into what employers can do in order to ensure that their employees do not take valuable company information with them upon leaving the company. Using a case study as a basis, particular emphasis was placed on non-solicitation and non-compete covenants, and the extent to which an employer can rely on such covenants when protecting his interests. The specific situation of a key employee who left her employer to join a competitor was addressed, and the types of action the employer could take in order to avoid the solicitation of his clients and staff and prevent his employees from competing against him were discussed. This book picks up where the session left off, and consists of no less than 13 contributions from individuals from 5 continents. Each country representative has been asked to respond to a series of pertinent questions on the subjects of restrictive covenants and protection of confidential information, in order to give a comparative overview of how these issues are treated in different jurisdictions. This comprehensive publication will be a valuable resource tool for legal practitioners, employers, HR professionals and anyone interested in the field of employment law.