Monthly Archives: July 2012

The Status of Noncompete Reform in Massachusetts

Yesterday, I attended a panel presentation at the Boston Bar Association on the status of noncompete legislative reform in Massachusetts. As Michael Rosen has discussed in numerous prior posts on this blog, recently there has been a push to limit noncompetes in order to increase employee mobility and productivity, led by state Rep. Lori Ehrlich (D-Marblehead) and state Sen. William Brownsberger (D-Belmont). The presentation was designed to update the legal community on the movement.… More

“Employee Non-Compete Agreements, Trade Secrets and Job Creation: The Status of Law Reform” at the Boston Bar Association

On Tuesday, July 24, the Boston Bar Association will be hosting a symposium on noncompete and trade secret legislation in Massachusetts.  State Representatives Brownsberger and Ehrlich, the leaders of the movement to substantially limit the enforceability of noncompetes in Massachusetts, will be in attendance.  Mike and I plan to be there, too, and will report back.  Stay tuned. More

New York Appellate Division Picks a Side in the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Circuit Split in Two Sentences

One issue I’ve written about here and here is the split among the federal circuit courts regarding the interpretation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) as it applies to employees who steal their employers’ confidential information.  The Ninth Circuit takes a narrow view, saying that the CFAA only applies to employees when “hacking” is involved.  But the First Circuit (which includes Massachusetts) and other circuits interpret the act to apply more broadly to include instances where an employee violates the terms of an employer’s computer use policy. … More

Legislative Update: Renewed Push for MA Noncompete Bill

As the Massachusetts legislative session comes to a close on July 31, there has been a renewed push for a bill that would “reform” current Massachusetts common law by placing various procedural and substantive restrictions on employee noncompetition agreements.  (Discussion of the proposed legislation and ongoing debate can be found here and here and multiple earlier posts.)  One of the bill’s sponsors, Rep. William Brownsberger, reports on his website that proponents of the bill are “hoping at this stage …to get the legislation added in to some other package…”   … More

New U.S. District Court Decision from Massachusetts Makes “Inevitable Disclosure” Arguments Effective Only When Noncompetes are Involved

Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly reports on a new decision from the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts by Judge Casper that makes “inevitable disclosure” arguments effective only in cases involving noncompetition agreements. I’m quoted in the text of the article.  (For those of you without a subscription to Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, I’ll post a copy of the article once I receive reprint permission.) The article does a good job of describing the facts and holding,… More