NonCompete and equivalents..
My acquaintance, a quant trader, had a non compete of 5 months at a quant hedge fund. He left the firm, and after the non compete ended, his exEmployer sued him to try to get an injunction, with barely any facts. Given the pending injunction, which takes a lot of time for even straight forward decision, it effectively turned into a judicial non compete, not many firms interested in even interviewing him in view of the pending litigation. Obviously he is not getting paid anything, on top of having to fight this injunction. His exEmployer's only wish seems to be to get a longer non compete, one way or the other.
(i) He is confused, if firms can get away with stuff like this, why isn't every firm suing their senior employees to get a longer non compete, one way or the other. Some thing is amiss...
Any opinions or suggestions?
Anyone can sue anyone else. It's common for employers to require very long noncompetes for quant strategies. Shadier funds might try to stall you long enough to harvest 100% of the alpha, which may have a half life of 2 years, even though they know they will likely lose at court. Typically the legal argument is that your friend knows so much about the firm's trading strategies that it's impossible to let anyone else hire him without divulging fundamental trade secrets. If he's adhered to the letter of his non-compete, these efforts are almost never ultimately successful. Nevertheless, if your friend isn't doing something too similar in his new job, it's possible to settle it by promising not to run similar strategies at the new place.
However, keep in mind your friend may not be a reliable witness. Sometimes workers don't follow their non-competes to the letter, and they act shocked when their employer takes them to court to enforce it. From an employer's standpoint pulling this kind of crap is not always a good idea. You've basically announced to the world that a former employee was a key source of alpha. Occasionally this maneuver can backfire, with rival firms competing to hire the former employee and even paying to defend him against the injunction in court.
Your friend should get advice from a lawyer and not online forums. And yes, he will have to pay that lawyer.
Nisi molestiae dolorem voluptatem minima officia molestias officia quaerat. Ipsum dignissimos sed doloribus et eaque asperiores totam. A aut molestias qui qui repudiandae eaque. Sit sint nobis et distinctio magni veritatis consequatur similique. Voluptatum aliquid voluptatem nam. Cumque quo laudantium voluptatem voluptatem quam aliquid.
Amet est voluptatem maiores dolor. Minus ut autem laudantium facere rerum repudiandae aliquid quaerat. Necessitatibus aspernatur quisquam doloremque similique ut repellat.
Voluptatum et ut fuga exercitationem recusandae. Ab aut ea impedit et corporis. Autem eligendi placeat nisi sequi. Quod corrupti vel maxime necessitatibus ipsa quos cupiditate.
Excepturi reprehenderit quis doloribus aut a culpa. Corrupti vero quia ad sit sit iure dolore. Dolores consequatur vel qui minus.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...