A recent issue of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly features discussion with Russell Beck in an article titled “Aesthetician can sue ex-employer for tortious interference, 93A.”
The article covers a Massachusetts Superior Court decision concerning a lawsuit filed by an aesthetician against her former employer. The aesthetician alleges that, after she was terminated, her former employer sent her a cease-and-desist letter and contacted third parties to warn them against doing business with her. The aesthetician contends that her prior employer does not have an enforceable noncompete agreement, and that the communications to third parties were false and derogatory. The article was written by Lawyers Weekly reporter Eric T. Berkman.
According to the article, the Bristol County Superior Court Judge, in Macaroco v. Vanity Lab, LLC, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 12-040-22), denied the former employer’s motion to dismiss, ruling that the plaintiff’s allegations that the former employer “published false and derogatory statements about the quality of her services to at least one third party, and that it sent the cease and desist letter with the intention of gaining a business advantage over her while knowing the restrictive covenants were unenforceable, were enough to state trade libel and Chapter 93A claims respectively.”
The article quotes Russell Beck as follows:
Boston employment attorney Russell Beck, who handles trade secret and noncompete disputes, said the case provides guidance to employees trying to determine if they should affirmatively sue over attempts to enforce a likely invalid restrictive covenant, or whether they should wait and see if the employer actually follows through with a lawsuit of its own.
“Most times the calculus yields a result where you don’t challenge it and you wait,” he said. “But where, like here, the employer also allegedly went so far as to tell its customers, ‘We’re going to sue this person because they’re violating their covenants and you can’t work with them,’ coupled with a situation where the employee allegedly wasn’t paid appropriately in the first place, you’ve got the makings of a good reason not to wait.”
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For up-to-the-minute analysis of legal issues concerning noncompete agreements in Massachusetts and across the United States, read Russell Beck’s blog, Fair Competition Law.
eck Reed Riden LLP is among the leading authorities in trade secret, noncompete, and unfair competition law, and our experience handling these matters is backed by our extensive employment law and business litigation experience. Our hand-picked team combines attorneys with complementary expertise and practical experience.
The Wall Street Journal featured Beck Reed Riden LLP’s noncompete agreement experience. In 2016, the White House issued a report entitled, “Non-Compete Agreements: Analysis of the Usage, Potential Issues, and State Responses,” relying in part on Beck Reed Riden LLP’s research and analysis, including its 50 State Noncompete Survey.
Russell Beck’s work in this area is well recognized, and includes:
- Over thirty years of experience working on trade secret, noncompete, and unfair competition matters
- Assisting the Obama White House as part of a small working group to develop President Obama’s Noncompete Call to Action
- Authoring the book Negotiating, Drafting, and Enforcing Noncompetition Agreements and Related Restrictive Covenants (6th ed., MCLE, Inc. 2021), used by other lawyers to help them with their noncompete matters
- Authoring the book Trade Secrets Law for the Massachusetts Practitioner (1st ed. MCLE 2019), covering trade secrets nationally, with a focus on Massachusetts law
- Drafting and advising on legislation for the Massachusetts Legislature to define, codify, and improve noncompetition law
- Teaching Trade Secrets and Restrictive Covenants at Boston University School of Law
- Founding and administering the award-winning blog, Fair Competition Law
- Establishing and administering the Noncompete Lawyers and Trade Secret Protection groups on LinkedIn, with over 1,660 and 870 members, respectively, around the world
- Founded and chaired the Trade Secret / Noncompete Practice for an AmLaw 100 firm
In addition, Russell was honored for his work in this area of law in the 2020 Chambers USA Guide, which stated that Russell Beck is “an expert in the field of trade secret and restrictive covenant law,” and is also noted for his “ability to adjust and come up with successful solutions.” Chambers noted that Russell “basically wrote the new Massachusetts statute on noncompetes” and that “he’s an expert in employee mobility and nonrestrictive covenants.”
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