Monthly Archives: February 2008

Today I attended the Mass Technology Leadership Council’s 2008 Annual Meeting, at which several speakers, including Governor Deval Patrick, spoke about economic development strategies, the state of the technology industry in Massachusetts, and the like. I attended the meeting in part to see whether the recent noncompete debate (described here and here) would receive any attention. I was quite interested to find that it did.… More

While some in the business community continue to focus on whether the ability to enforce noncompetes in Massachusetts places the state at a competitive disadvantage vis-à-vis Silicon Valley, a recent decision from the Massachusetts Superior Court’s Business Litigation Session — Network Systems Architects Corp. v. Dimitruk — highlights the difficulties departing employees and their future employers can face even in the absence of a contract restricting post-employment activities. … More

Several weeks back this blog discussed a proposal being advanced by some Massachusetts venture capitalists to abolish noncompetition agreements in Massachusetts.  (See Proposal to Eradicate Noncompetes in Massachusetts Creates Stir).  We noted that a Boston Globe article was reporting that supporters of this proposal had written to Governor Patrick urging legislative action to make noncompetes invalid in Massachusetts.  The letter to Governor Patrick, as well as the Governor’s somewhat perfunctory response,… More