Workforce Competition Disputes
Loop Litigation represents companies in disputes over trade secrets, restrictive covenants, and unfair competition — including non-compete and non-solicitation enforcement, trade-secret misappropriation, departing-employee matters, and defending companies accused of hiring the wrong person, under Illinois and federal law.
72-Hour Departing Employee Response — $5,500 flat
Within three days: what your agreements actually let you enforce, a preservation plan that holds up, a straight go/no-go on emergency injunctive relief, and a demand letter ready to send. If the answer is “don’t file,” we’ll tell you that too.
When a key employee leaves with your customer relationships, your confidential information, or your team, the first 72 hours often decide the outcome. We move fast: assessing your restrictive covenants against the Illinois Freedom to Work Act and current case law, preserving evidence, and — where warranted — seeking injunctive relief before the damage compounds. We build the analysis and filings at AI-accelerated speed without sacrificing the judgment these high-stakes matters demand.
It runs the other way too. When you hire someone good, their old employer sometimes sends a letter. We review the covenants before you extend the offer, build an onboarding protocol that keeps you clean, and defend you if the letter arrives anyway. Same body of law, opposite side of the table — and for a growing company, usually the more frequent problem.
Representative matters
- Tried trade secret and non-competition claims against former employees who had joined a competitor, in the Ohio Court of Common Pleas.
- Defeated a motion for temporary restraining order and a motion for preliminary injunction brought by the former seller of a corporation seeking to eliminate non-competition restrictions.
- Defended a company and its new hire against a former employer's claims, defeating a motion for temporary restraining order and prevailing on a motion to dismiss.
- Submitted an amicus brief in the Illinois Appellate Court on behalf of a manufacturing trade group regarding the enforceability of non-compete provisions under Illinois law.
- Represented a national retailer in a breach of contract and fraud dispute relating to the hiring of a Chief Marketing Officer.
- Led an internal investigation into the former president of a subsidiary of a large manufacturer regarding potential product safety concerns.
- Represented a German client in arbitration before the International Centre for Dispute Resolution in a partnership agreement dispute.
These matters are described for illustration only. Results depend on the specific facts and legal circumstances of each case, and prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future matter. Certain matters were handled by Anand Mathew prior to the founding of Loop Litigation.
Typical matters
- Non-compete and non-solicitation enforcement
- Trade-secret misappropriation (DTSA and Illinois Trade Secrets Act)
- Breach of the duty of loyalty
- Departing-employee and team-lift-out disputes
- Temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions
Frequently asked questions
Are non-competes still enforceable in Illinois?
Yes, within limits. The Illinois Freedom to Work Act sets income thresholds and other requirements a non-compete must meet to be enforceable. Whether a specific agreement holds up depends on its terms and the circumstances — which is exactly what we assess at the outset of a matter.
How fast can you seek an injunction?
When the facts warrant emergency relief, we can move within days. Our AI-accelerated workflows let us build the factual record and briefing far faster than a traditional staffing model.