Gary Glaser and Brian Murphy Published in the New York Law Journal
"Free: Forever Yours - In 'Ashland Management,' Confidentiality Knows No Bounds"

Gary Glaser and Brian Murphy's article, "Free: Forever Yours - In 'Ashland Management,' Confidentiality Knows No Bounds," published in the March 23, 2009 issue of the New York Law Journal. In their article, Gary and Brian discuss how restrictive covenants (including covenants not to compete, more limited non-solicitation agreements, confidentiality agreements or a combination of the three) are heavily disfavored under New York law. According to the authors, "This stems from New York's strong public policy favoring an individual's ability to earn a livelihood." They also note that "Courts will generally enforce agreements that contain restrictive covenants only where the restrictions are reasonably limited geographically and temporally and the enforcement is necessary to protect a valid business interest."

Gary and Brian's article focuses on the Appellate Division, First Department's decision in Ashland Management Inc. v. Altair Investments NA LLC. They explain, "The clarity of the decision in Ashland Management stands out from the body of somewhat confusing and at times apparently inconsistent cases in this area. In one stroke of their collective pens, the majority strengthened the enforceability of confidentiality agreements binding former employees, and at least implicitly reinforced the viability of confidentiality-based restrictions on the solicitation of the customers of one's former employer even absent an express no-solicitation agreement." According to the authors, the primary significance of the decision is the court's enforcement of a confidentiality agreement of unlimited duration against two former employees.