By Rob Radcliff on Posted in Age Discrimination,EEO Claims,HR Issues,Uncategorized I remember when I was a younger lawyer the difficulty I had with clients settling lawsuits that factually and legally had little merit. I remember the partner I worked for telling me that was the cost of doing business. While I knew he was right that comment still bothers me to this day. But… Continue Reading
By Rob Radcliff on Posted in Uncategorized For some time Texas has been a hot market for lawyers. Big firms from other parts of the country who want to shop here not surprisingly will hire lawyers from other big firms that are already here. Many of the partners in these firms have notice provisions in their partnership agreements that require… Continue Reading
By Rob Radcliff on Posted in Uncategorized Tomorrow, I have the privilege of speaking to the Executive Search Owners Association. Over the years I have had the privilege of representing placement professionals in a number of circumstances. Some tips: Make sure your engagement agreements/contracts make sense and are enforceable; Remember that non-competes and non-solicitation agreements in Texas can be enforceable; Screen your… Continue Reading
By Rob Radcliff on Posted in Uncategorized Whenever I draft or review an employment agreement (or for that matter any contract) one of the first things I look for is a venue provision. Usually there is one, but if not you fall back on the laws of the state the party would like to bring suit in to see if venue… Continue Reading
By Rob Radcliff on Posted in UncategorizedFor whatever reason an employee leaves, the exit interview (if that’s what the company calls it) or instance when the HR person in charge collects the employees building badge and any company property is an excellent time to remind the employee of their post-employment covenants. We talked about agreements at the end of employment during… Continue Reading
By Rob Radcliff on Posted in Uncategorized Strictly speaking under Texas law it is hard to make a non-compete stick when it is first introduced at the end of employment. Assume a situation where an employee signed a confidentiality agreement and non-disclosure agreement but didn’t sign a non-compete, non-solicit (customers), or anti-raid (employees). Is the employer out of luck? Maybe not.… Continue Reading
By Rob Radcliff on Posted in Uncategorized I usually don’t dive into the weeds of particular cases here because it can be tedious and boring. That said, a recent case from the 14th Court of Appeals in Houston caught my eye. First, the employer at issue is none other than Buc-ee’s. If you’ve ever driven the highways of Texas there is… Continue Reading
By Rob Radcliff on Posted in UncategorizedThis time of year is usually interesting from a college football coach perspective. Most teams that intend to fire their coach have done so and are now in the coaching market. Of course once those hires are made that creates additional openings for others. There seem to be a lot of vacancies for very good… Continue Reading
By Rob Radcliff on Posted in HR Issues,UncategorizedThe purpose of the performance improvement plan or “PIP” is to give an employee the opportunity to make certain changes in their work performance so as to merit ongoing employment. Put another way satisfy the PIP and you keep your job. Of course, there are all sorts of statements in the PIP (or there should… Continue Reading
By Rob Radcliff on Posted in Anti-Raid,Confidentiality,Non-Compete Agreements,Non-Solicitation Agreements,Trade Secrets,Uncategorized The usual gamut of post-employment covenants includes non-compete restrictions, non-solicitation of customer restrictions, confidentiality restrictions, and in many cases the anti-raid provision designed to keep a departing employee from hiring away a former employer’s employees and contractors. The anti-raid is not always given a lot of thought, but it should be. Why? Because when… Continue Reading
By Rob Radcliff on Posted in UncategorizedLast year I worked with a number of employers to address the Obama administrations’ new overtime rules. Here are some posts on the subject. Eventually a judge here in Texas (the same judge that is handling the Ezekiel Elliot lawsuit) entered an order preventing implementation of the new rules. Then President Trump was elected and… Continue Reading
By Rob Radcliff on Posted in UncategorizedThis week, I have the privilege of speaking to the Executive Search Owners Association. Over the years I have had the privilege of representing placement professionals in a number of circumstances. Some tips: Make sure your engagement agreements/contracts make sense and are enforceable; Remember that non-competes and non-solicitation agreements in Texas can be enforceable; Screen your… Continue Reading
By Rob Radcliff on Posted in HR Issues,Uncategorized Caught this story here in Dallas where a now defunct medical lab had “gropening day” every other Friday. Here is a link to the story. Basically employees were free to grope one another every other Friday – no joke. It’s hard to believe something like this occurs in 2017. Unfortunately it does. A former… Continue Reading
By Rob Radcliff on Posted in Uncategorized We know that most cases are resolved before they ever see a jury or judge at trial. Some go the way of summary judgment. Other go the way of settlement. After attorneys’ fees and case related fatigue parties eventually get to a position where continued litigation no longer makes sense. Most companies and others… Continue Reading
By Rob Radcliff on Posted in Injunction,Non-Compete Agreements,Recent Cases,Uncategorized A couple of weeks ago we wrote about the rationale behind why Texas lawyers aren’t subject to non-compete agreements. That said, generally lawyers aren’t permitted to compete with their current law firm/employer while still employed. That seems pretty basic. Imagine this fact pattern pulled from the allegations from the above lawsuit: Lawyer works… Continue Reading
By Rob Radcliff on Posted in Hiring and Firing,HR Issues,Uncategorized From an employer’s perspective the firing of an employee is hopefully the culmination of a deliberative process and compliance with the company’s policies and procedures. It is the ultimate adverse employment action and everything that is said and done may be put under the microscope by an employee’s lawyer, EEOC, or Texas Commission on… Continue Reading
By Rob Radcliff on Posted in UncategorizedMy favorite baseball player growing up was Yankees’ first baseman Don Mattingly. Mattingly was an outstanding left handed hitter who never won a title with Bronx Bombers. In the summer of 1991, Mattingly refused to get his haircut and the Yankees benched and fined him. Employee dress code and appearance policies are nothing new, not… Continue Reading
By Rob Radcliff on Posted in UncategorizedToday, I have the privilege of speaking to the Executive Search Owners Association. Over the years I have had the privilege of representing placement professionals in a number of circumstances. Some tips: Make sure your engagement agreements/contracts make sense and are enforceable; Remember that non-competes and non-solicitation agreements in Texas can be enforceable; Screen your… Continue Reading
By Rob Radcliff on Posted in UncategorizedWednesday, I will be speaking on various placement professional legal issues with the Executive Search Owners Association in Dallas.… Continue Reading
By Rob Radcliff on Posted in Trade Secrets,Uncategorized Some time you are right, and some time you are wrong. A few months ago I offered the opinion that it was unlikely the Texas Supreme Court would exclude a client representative from the courtroom during a trade secrets case when trade secrets were discussed. I was wrong. The Texas Supreme Court has said… Continue Reading
