Success Express Workshop focuses on non-competes, contracts and dispute resolution

“The Workplace Minefield of Legal Misinformation”

was the topic of the most recent Success Express Workshop in Westborough, MA on February 10, 2016.  The workshop, one in a series presented by the Corridor Nine Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by Commerce Bank, featured Michael Zeytoonian, lawyer, mediator and founding member of Dispute Resolution Counsel, LLC as its presenter.

The primary focus of this “legal misinformation” workshop was on non-compete, non-solicitation and confidentiality agreements, the myths and realities about their enforceability and the keys to drafting enforceable agreements.  Zeytoonian discussed all phases of these restrictive covenants – their non-competition, non-solicitation and confidentiality provisions, as well as their limitations in geographic scope and time periods, and their thoroughness in defining the competition.  He also discussed the status of legislative bills to limit these agreements and how Massachusetts courts typically decide cases about these agreements.

The second emphasis of the workshop was on effective contract drafting.  Zeytoonian referred to good contracts that anticipate problems and address them proactively as the first elements of effective dispute resolution.  He stressed that managing a problem begins with its prevention from ever becoming a dispute.  He urged companies to engage in proactive contract writing by their “primary care lawyers”, rather than opt for boilerplate contracts that are available.  He warned workshop attendees about the “seven deadly clauses” in contracts, urging them to make sure they understand what some of these provisions mean, and whether the provision is good for them or not.

“The value proposition is not so much the words in the contract, but the lawyer’s wise counsel in knowing what to include and what to leave out, so that the contract serves the client’s specific needs,” Zeytoonian suggested.  “Good, preventive contracts, along with the underused resource of independent ombudspersons are key elements in a small business’s line of defense against lawsuits and complaints,’ he advised. 

“Going over the provisions of a contract with your lawyer during their drafting gives you the opportunity to understand what the contract does while you are still calm and before any dispute arises, rather than be forced into a reactive, emotion-driven decision after disputes arise,” Zeytoonian noted.

The workshop also focused on the various options for dispute resolution that are available to businesses.  Zeytoonian explained the basics of several dispute resolution processes- Mediation, Arbitration, Collaborative Law and Litigation – and stressed the importance of choosing the right process for the situation that the dispute presents.  “Too often, people have chosen the wrong process for their circumstances, only to realize it when years have passed and thousands have been spent before the matter gets resolved,” he cautioned.  Zeytoonian also touched on some of the growing areas of workplace disputes –disability and religious discrimination, wage and hour claims and the secondary but dangerous claims of retaliation and spoliation of evidence.

The Corridor Nine Chamber offers several practical-oriented Success Express workshops each year.  The Chamber serves five towns – Westborough, Northborough, Shrewsbury, Grafton and Southborough.

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