Few areas of Illinois law have shifted as much in the last decade as restrictive covenants. Agreements that were routine in 2015 may be void today. Whether you are an employer trying to protect your customer relationships or an executive weighing a new opportunity against an old signature, you need advice that reflects the law as it stands now.
The Illinois landscape
Illinois courts enforce non-competition and non-solicitation covenants only when they are ancillary to a valid relationship, supported by adequate consideration, and no broader than necessary to protect a legitimate business interest — a totality-of-the-circumstances inquiry that looks at customer relationships, confidential information, time, territory, and the scope of restricted activity. On top of the case law, the Illinois Freedom to Work Act now imposes hard statutory limits, including minimum salary thresholds for enforceable non-competes and non-solicits, notice and attorney-review requirements, and fee-shifting for employees who defeat improper covenants.
For employers
- Drafting and updating restrictive covenants that will actually hold up — the fastest way to lose a non-compete case is to over-reach on paper.
- Rapid response when a key employee departs: preservation demands, forensic review, cease-and-desist strategy, and TRO/preliminary injunction proceedings when the evidence supports them.
- Claims against the new employer for tortious interference and unfair competition, and anti-raiding disputes when a team leaves together.
For executives, physicians, and other professionals
- Pre-signing and pre-departure review: what the covenant actually restricts, what is likely enforceable, and how to plan a move that minimizes risk.
- Defense of enforcement actions, including consideration challenges, legitimate-business-interest challenges, and statutory defenses under the Freedom to Work Act.
- Negotiating releases, waivers, and carve-outs as part of separation agreements.
Why speed matters
Restrictive covenant fights are usually won or lost in the first thirty days. Employers who wait to act can find their trade secrets scattered and their injunction case stale; employees who act without advice can create the very evidence that gets them enjoined. Whichever side you are on, the time to call is before the dispute fully ignites — but if it already has, I am built for the emergency posture these cases demand.