Non-Competes: The Rocky Landscape and a Path Forward (Presented by the Federal Bar Association Labor & Employment Law Section)

Moderator, Nico Stillwell, Attorney | ELM Law

After receiving their law degree from Washington University School of Law, Nico clerked on the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District for the Honorable Alok Ahuja. Since then, Nico has assisted clients in navigating litigation and arbitration matters across the country, including in the Fourth, Fifth, and Eighth Circuits. Currently, Nico manages the appellate division for ELM Law, a plaintiff’s firm specializing in civil rights and discrimination-based litigation.

Russell Beck, Partner | Beck Reed Riden LLP

Russell is a business litigator, nationally recognized for his trade secrets, restrictive covenant, and employee mobility experience. He was invited to the Obama White House to develop guidelines for the proper use of noncompetes, has been cited as an expert on trade secrets and noncompetes by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, U.S. Department of the Treasury, National Public Radio, BBC World News Service, PBS Newshour, Le Monde, and many others, drafted much of the language in the 2018 overhaul of Massachusetts noncompete and trade secrets law, and prepared his firm’s widely used 50 State Noncompete Survey (the first of its kind and updated regularly since 2010) and the firm’s 50 State Trade Secrets Comparison Chart (also the first of its kind). He writes and administers the award-winning Fair Competition Law blog, is the author of the books, Negotiating, Drafting, and Enforcing Noncompetition Agreements and Related Restrictive Covenants (6th ed., MCLE, Inc. 2021) and Trade Secrets Law for the Massachusetts Practitioner (1st ed., MCLE 2019), and teaches Trade Secrets and Restrictive Covenants at Boston University School of Law. Russell also served as President of the Boston Bar Foundation.

Tony Durone, Co-Managing Partner | Berkowitz Oliver, LLP

Tony Durone has extensive experience in business litigation and, in particular, representing companies and professionals in the financial services and lending industries, including securities broker/dealers, accounting firms, tax preparation firms, banks, consumer loan lenders and other financial service providers. He has served as lead and trial counsel in hundreds of cases involving professional negligence claims, business torts, unfair competition, restrictive covenant, trademark and data privacy issues. He has litigated cases in more than thirty-five states and tried cases in more than a dozen, in state and federal court, in FINRA and other arbitration forums and before the SEC, CFTC and state securities commissions. Tony graduated cum laude from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law in 1995, and served as Note and Comment Editor for and was published in the Missouri Law Review. In addition, he has been recognized as a top litigator by his peers, including in the annual publication of Benchmark Litigation, and by Martindale-Hubbell with a rating of AV Preeminent. He is also involved in several local community organizations and he served from 2007 to 2010 as the Co-Chair for the annual Kansas City Spirit Awards Gala, benefiting Gillis House for Families and Children. Tony also serves as President of the Board of Trustees for the Lyric Opera of Kansas City.

Stacey R. Gilman, Partner | Berkowitz Oliver, LLP

Stacey Gilman is an experienced civil litigator whose practice focuses
on business litigation, intellectual property, and other complex commercial matters. For nearly 30 years, she has helped her clients navigate their challenging and high-profile disputes, including restrictive covenant, patent, trade secret, trademark, copyright, unfair competition, antitrust, and privacy claims. In doing so, she has established herself as an accomplished advisor and trial attorney, with extensive experience in state, federal, private, and international tribunals. In addition, Stacey is a member of the American Arbitration Association® National Roster of Arbitrators and a certified mediator. Recognized as a “Super Lawyer” by her peers and selected as a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation for her extraordinary leadership in the legal profession, Stacey graduated cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School, where she was Associate Editor of the Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review. A former newspaper editor, Stacey continues to publish work on intellectual property, the Freedom of Information Act, and notable developments in the law. She also dedicates her time as a Board Member and volunteer for multiple non-profit organizations benefitting children’s causes, the homeless, and the community-at-large; and serves as a frequent lecturer on marketing, privacy, and intellectual property law at the University of Kansas.

I. State of Non-Compete Law | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

II. Background to Regulation of Non-Competes | 2:10pm – 2:20pm

III. The FTC Rule | 2:20pm – 2:30pm

IV. Legal Challenges to the FTC Rule and What They Mean | 2:30pm – 2:40pm

V. What’s Ahead? | 2:40pm – 2:50pm

VI. Q&A | 2:50pm – 3:00pm