American City Business Journals Quote Joshua Hawks-Ladds on Noncompetes

Joshua Hawks-Ladds, co-chair of Pullman & Comley’s Labor & Employment practice, was a key source in an American City Business Journals article about proposed noncompete bans. The article was published in more than 50 outlets including the New York, Los Angeles and Chicago Business Journals.

Here is the section of the article quoting Joshua:

“There is no doubt that the trend right now is for the states to limit noncompetes if not outright ban them,” Pullman & Comley Attorney Joshua Hawks-Ladds told The Playbook.

“Any employer or business needs to be forearmed with that knowledge and warn their clients that if they execute a noncompete agreement, they should take that into consideration.”

He said state governments are more skeptical of noncompetes because they limit the free flow of human capital and, to many, hamper the idea of the free market.

“We’re a capitalistic country which means we believe in the free flow exchange of capital, including human capital,” he said. “When you restrain the free flow of human capital, you are hurting the competitive nature of our society, and there is value in competition because you get stronger products and better ideas. Competition is good.”

Joshua adds:

“On the other hand, intellectual property is the lifeblood of many businesses in a wide variety of industries. Many employers rely on non-competes to protect their IP and have justifiable reasons for wanting to impose these agreements. When applied properly and ethically, noncompetes are an effective tool to protect key business interests.”

ACBJ subscribers can read the full article here.