It’s time to take another hard look at whether it’s worth it for employers to ask their departing employees not to recruit anyone away after they leave. Nobody wants their former employees to raid the ranks of their current employees, but they don’t want to be forced to defend an unfair competition lawsuit in California either. By the same token, nobody tempted to recruit their former colleagues wants to be sued for breach of contract or to have their new employer sued for interference with contractual relations. The need to balance those risks is becoming ever more acute.

Originally published in the Daily Journal - February 6, 2019.