Five ways to negotiate a non-compete contract

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Nowadays, many employees who resign from a company are asked to sign a non-compete contract which prevents them from working for competitors or from starting businesses that would compete against their previous company.

It is near impossible for an aspiring employee not to sign such a contract, as it might reduce his chances of landing a job at a competing firm. However, negotiation is still possible, and Forbes.com lists five ways that one can use to do just that:

• Consulting an attorney. This can be a very good idea, as lawyers who are well-versed in these matters can negotiate certain terms that may be beneficial for the applicant.

• Limiting the geography. Since a broad scope of the non-compete contract with respect to geography and time is beneficial only to the employer, there should be certain limits to this. Restricting a secretary from working in the same industry on another state may not be legally plausible, but restricting a computer game programmer might, as the Internet is global in scale.

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• Limiting the time span. Applicants should also limit the time before they will be allowed to work at a competing company. Anything more than two years will not be favored in court.

• Exploring other restrictions. Instead of a non-compete contract, applicants can also ask their employers for a non-disclosure or a non-solicitation contract instead. Both of these protect the valuable resources of the company while allowing the employee to work in competing companies immediately after resignation.

• Requesting to get paid. As the employee will be unable to work in his or her respective specialties during the time specified in the non-compete contract, he or she could try to negotiate a certain amount of money to serve as recompense.

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Even though most companies do not give enough leeway for a non-compete contract negotiation, an aspiring employee should make every effort to negotiate such matter.

One practice area that Atty. Evan Granowitz specializes in is breach of contract disputes. Visit this Twitter page for more information on related topics.

Defending yourself from breach of contract lawsuit with an affirmative defense

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Saving yourself from a breach of contract lawsuit involves having several affirmative defenses. This blog article explains how you can get out of a contract by taking advantage of those defenses. The courts of California afford defendants with several defenses in breach of contract actions. Among these are:

• The contract was ambiguous. The plaintiff did not clearly state some aspects of the contract. Ambiguity makes it hard for you, as the defendant, to respond.

• There was breach of contract by the plaintiff. The plaintiff failed to comply with the terms of the transaction by changing the terms of the contract without your consent or failing to pay you.

• You were induced to enter into a contract. A contract will be invalid if it was induced under duress or undue influence. The plaintiff made you enter into the contract against your will by taking unfair advantage of your mental incapacity or by using threats or force.

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• A mistake was made. There’s a mistake involving the terms that were agreed upon by the contracting parties. You can defend yourself by proving that the mistake was mutual.

• There was fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation. Part of the contract, if not all of it, resulted from fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation by the plaintiff or another party.

If you’re charged with breach of contract, the law allows you to claim as many defenses as possible. Deciding which defenses work best for you is crucial, and seeking help from legal experts like Evan Granowitz and Thomas Gallagher is a wise move.

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The Evan Granowitz Twitter page offers some helpful information about breach of contract and other legal matters. TAGS: breach of contract, breach of contract defenses, breach of contract affirmative defenses, contract breach defenses, contract defenses, breach of contract lawsuit