Restrictive Covenants & Employee Competition
Pragmatic advice and tactical strategies to prevent, manage and resolve employee competition disputes.
Disputes over restrictive covenants, confidential information or team moves can put businesses and individuals under significant pressure. We guide clients through these high-stakes situations with clear, tactical advice that safeguards business continuity, protects reputations and supports long-term career prospects.
Our Employee Competition Group is one of the most experienced in London. Acting for both employers and individuals gives us a rare insight into the tactics and pressure points on each side. This perspective allows us to anticipate risks, respond quickly and deliver the best outcomes – from discreet settlements to robust High Court litigation.
A multidisciplinary approach
These cases often touch on far more than employment law. We bring together experts in commercial litigation, regulatory disputes, data protection, reputation management and intellectual property to cover every angle. This breadth ensures clients have the right team in place from the outset and that no issue is overlooked.
How we help employers
Confidential information, client relationships and key people are the lifeblood of most businesses. We help employers safeguard these assets and respond decisively when they are under threat.
Our work includes:
- Preventative measures: drafting notice periods, garden leave provisions, confidentiality clauses, and restrictive covenants that stand up to challenge.
- Strategic response: advising when employees are suspected of moving to a competitor or soliciting clients.
- Injunctive relief: obtaining urgent orders to prevent loss of business-critical information or client relationships.
- Breach of duties: pursuing claims for breach of confidence, fiduciary duties or post-termination restrictions.
- Contentious hiring: managing risks when recruiting senior individuals or teams subject to restrictions.
- IP protection: enforcing intellectual property rights where necessary.
Many of the cases we handle are resolved before becoming public. Where litigation is unavoidable, we are well-resourced to act rapidly and litigate robustly.
How we help senior executives, partners and teams
We have market-leading Senior Executive and Partnership practices and regularly advise individuals and teams accused of breaching post-termination restrictions. We also support clients negotiating new contracts and exit terms that include restrictive covenants.
Facing claims about restrictive covenants or misuse of confidential information can be stressful and potentially career-defining. We support clients with clear, tactical advice and steady guidance at every stage, working towards outcomes that allow them to move forward with their careers.
Our work includes:
- Negotiating contractual terms on entry and exit, including restrictive covenants.
- Defending claims for breach of confidence, fiduciary duties and post-termination restrictions.
- Managing regulatory and reputational risks alongside the legal process.
- Securing negotiated settlements that avoid prolonged litigation and publicity.
Recent work highlights:
- High Court defence for a senior oil trader: successfully representing a senior trader in urgent proceedings brought by a former employer, which sought to prevent them from starting a new role. The case involved allegations of breach of duties and multi-million pound damages claims.
- Negotiating a complex C-suite exit: advising a very senior executive at a critical point in their career, securing a favourable settlement, reducing post-termination restrictions, and managing whistleblowing and discrimination complaints.
- Resolving team move allegations: advising a group of executives accused of breaching fiduciary duties during a team move, achieving a discreet settlement that avoided drawn-out litigation and publicity.
