A recent article in The Dallas Morning News features Russell Beck in a story titled “After two execs depart for rival, American Airlines has no plans to change retention strategy.”
The article discusses two top executives who left American Airlines to join rival United Airlines. A focus of the article is American Airline’s choice to forego the use of noncompete agreements, despite the common use of such agreements in many other companies.
The article was written by The Dallas Morning News‘ aviation and airlines reporter, Conor Shine.
“The higher the level of the employee, the better chance they’ll have to negotiate terms of restriction,” said Russell Beck, a Massachusetts attorney who specializes in noncompete clauses and trade secrets law. “There are no downsides from the company’s standpoint in using noncompetes except … it may make it more difficult for them to secure talent.”
In their most basic sense, noncompete agreements restrict where an employee can find new work after leaving a job. The goal, Beck said, is to minimize the risk that an employee takes confidential information, like knowledge of customer relations or company operations, to a competitor. They can also help protect investments companies make in an employee’s training.
Nearly 1 in 5 workers is bound by a noncompete agreement, while a third have signed one at some point in their careers, according to a 2016 White House report. Research has shown that the odds of having signed a noncompete clause increase with salary and education levels.
Beck said there’s no specific data on the rise of noncompete agreements around the country, but informal surveys show that the number of noncompete cases being decided by courts have roughly doubled since 2000.
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.
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. Recently, 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; it includes:
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Over sixteen years of working on trade secret, noncompete, and unfair competition matters
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Authoring the book Negotiating, Drafting, and Enforcing Noncompetition Agreements and Related Restrictive Covenants (5th ed., MCLE, Inc. 2015), used by other lawyers to help them with their noncompete cases
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Drafting and advising on legislation for the Massachusetts Legislature to define, codify, and improve noncompetition law
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Teaching Trade Secrets and Restrictive Covenants at Boston University School of Law
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Founding and administrating the award-winning blog, Fair Competition Law
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Establishing and administrating the Noncompete Lawyers and Trade Secret Protection groups on LinkedIn, with over 750 members around the world
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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 2014 Chambers USA Guide, which explained that “Russell Beck of Beck Reed Riden LLP specializes in noncompete litigation and is a trade secrets expert. He comes highly recommended by his peers for his nationwide practice in this niche. ‘He’s fantastic,’ sources say.”
Beck Reed Riden LLP is Boston’s innovative litigation boutique. Our lawyers have years of experience at large law firms, working with clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to start-ups and individuals. We focus on business litigation and labor and employment. We are experienced litigators and counselors, helping our clients as business partners to resolve issues and develop strategies that best meet our clients’ legal and business needs – before, during, and after litigation. We’re ready to roll up our sleeves and help you. Read more about us, the types of matters we handle, and what we can do for you here.