Practice Management Alert

Question: We are considering expanding our practice into multiple locations. Scaling up involves a lot of forethought, expense, and commitment, and I'm nervous about farming out responsibilities (and our name and reputation) to employees outside of this space. If I go this route, should I look into non-competition and non-solicitation agreements?

Rhode Island Subscriber

Answer: First of all, this is not a legal publication, and you should consult a lawyer in your state to help you with the specifics of your situation and state laws. However, here's some more information on what non-solicitation and non-compete agreements look like, courtesy of Mary Beth Gettins at Gettins Law, in a blog post.

"Non-competes and non-solicitations span during the franchise agreement and post the termination, expiration, or transfer of the franchise. The enforceability of the franchise agreement's non-compete and non-solicitation is dependent on state law. Except for the case of California, non-competes and non-solicitation are enforceable if the duration of the non-compete is reasonable as to time and duration," Gettins writes.

"The general rule is that a non-compete and non-solicitation is only enforceable against the signers of the non-compete and non-solicitation."

Find out more about one big exception, here: http://gettinslaw.com/franchising/2017/11/30/how-far-does-a-franchise-non-compete-reach/.