Non-Compete & Non-Solicitation Agreements in NC

Is Your Business Protected?

Your employees are investments - how secure are they?

Without having the proper protections in place, your business could be exposed. In North Carolina, non-compete agreements and non-solicitation agreements are two tools you can use to protect your company. However, there are a lot of guidelines you need to follow to make sure the agreements will hold up in a court of law.

Two Ways to protect Your Business

A non-compete limits the employee’s ability to compete with the employer for a set period of time after an employee exits the company. This can shield your business from losing trade secrets, operational knowledge, and other vital information to competitors.

Similarly, a non-solicitation agreement restricts an employee’s ability to solicit an employer’s customers for a set period of time after employment ends. Essentially, this keeps former employees from poaching your customers.

Is My Agreement Enforceable In Court?

To be upheld by a judge in NC, generally agreements must be:

in writing;
a part of the employment contract;
based on valuable consideration (which means that the employer offers something of value in exchange for the employee’s agreement);
reasonable as to time and territory; and
designed to protect the company’s legitimate business interests.

What Happens when an Employee violates The Terms?

Without former employees, your current workforce, and your competitors being aware of your intent and ability to pursue legal action against any violators, merely having the agreements in place may not be enough to protect your business.

By bringing a civil action to enforce these agreements—which can result in different forms of relief ranging from an injunction to monetary damages—a company sends a message to employees that it is willing to protect the business by enforcing its contractual rights with respect to former employees.

Let us help you protect your business

Business Litigation

We help clients with issues such as:

- Non-Compete violations

- Misappropriation of trade secrets

- Prosecuting and defending breach of contract claims

- General corporate litigation

- Collections work

Corporate Change and Transitions

For companies experiencing change or transition, we are able to help:

- Negotiate a business sale

- Create purchase and sale agreements

- Draft licensee agreements

- Conduct real estate lease reviews

- Write vendor agreements

- Draft stock purchase agreements

- Write non-disclosure agreements

Corporate Growth and Expansion

If your business is growing, we can work with you on:

- New hire employee documents

- Hiring practices that protect your interests

- Employee handbooks

- Management policies to minimize risk

- Mergers, acquisitions, and shareholder disputes

From Our Business Clients

"Mathew was excellent in helping me solve a business matter. They were professional and very responsive. Highly recommend!"

- Brady, South End Plumbing

Two Ways to Protect Your Business with a Non-Compete Agreement

Non-compete and non-solicitation agreements are powerful legal tools because they place (reasonable) restrictions on what employees can do when they leave your company, essentially serving to help protect your business with a non-compete Agreement. (The average person will change jobs / companies 12 times over the span of their professional life.) In North Carolina, both…

What to Do When an Employee Violates an Agreement in NC

Non-compete and non-solicitation agreements are two tools you can use to help protect your business from a former employee’s post-employment actions. But, even when you’ve taken the steps to insulate your company in the right way and had an attorney draft agreements likely to be enforceable in court, what happens when an employee violates an…

I’m Hiring a New Salesperson, Do I Need a Non-Compete?

Non-competes, also known as “covenants not to compete,” are restrictive covenants found in some employment agreements. A non-compete is an agreement between the employer and employee that restricts the employee’s right to compete with the employer for a set period of time after employment ends. Employers opt for non-competes most often in situations where they…

About Mathew E. Flatow

As a lawyer and a small business owner, Mathew has a passion for helping businesses. From startup assistance to helping businesses protect what they've built and manage healthy growth, he views his cases with a singular focus: to solve the problems faced by his clients.