All non-compete agreements between employees and employers are not created equal. Jonathan Crook, founder of Blue Pencil Box software application, said that they are not all the same.
This Raleigh-based company was established in order to help business lawyers, employment attorneys, in-house counsel, and others in drafting and analysing non-compete agreements that accompany employment contract across many states.
Crook was an attorney who worked as the knowledge manager for a national firm’s restrictive covenants practice group. Crook was an experienced litigator, representing clients in non-compete cases on the defense and plaintiff sides.
Crook explained that non-competes are a rare exception to the general rule of courts trying to apply what the parties intended. “Courts are saying, “Wait a minute, I’m going in to assess whether or not the parties have agreed to be reasonable.”
“The laws regarding the enforceability and validity of non-competes differ from one state to another. Over half of all states have updated their non-compete laws in the past 10 years. It is a complex part of the law.
ANOTHER SET OF EYES
Crook stated that the tools in Blue Pencil Box can be used as “another set eyes” for large-scale review projects. “I have programmed a checklist which will automatically adapt based upon the jurisdictions and type of contract provisions being analyzed based on the project.”
The bot I created is suitable for law firms or in-house attorneys who are handling multiple state review projects. Each project could have a slightly different outcome. Smart Enforceability Checklist can be used to reduce risk and ensure compliance with all state nuances.
Blue Pencil Box doesn’t provide either a template contract nor actual contract language. “With this particular contract, I believe the enforceability for any non-compete can be so fact specific. A lawyer can help you understand your client’s specific interests and determine if they require a non-compete.
“We do not replace the valuable input that outside counsel or inside counsel provide in devising a strategy to get over the nuances of the law. Blue Pencil Box was created to ensure that the user is fully aware of all legal requirements. They can then discuss how to overcome the obstacles and create an enforceable agreement.
TWENTY-FIVE LEGAL ISSUES
Crook has created a huge spreadsheet for Blue Pencil Box, which covers 25 legal issues related to restrictive covenant drafting in all 50 states and District of Columbia. Crook prepares a newsletter for subscribers called the Daily Rundown that covers each day’s case, legislative developments, and regulatory developments. He also adds citations as the law changes.
Smart Issue Surveys make it easy to pull information from a spreadsheet. Crook explained that the user only needs to choose the jurisdictions they wish to examine and the issues. The Smart Enforceability Checklist is another automated component. This bot will remove any items from the checklist that are not relevant to the project that they are creating.
Blue Pencil Box subscriptions can be purchased on a per-license basis for $149 per month, or $1,399 annually.
Crook states that this licensing model is applicable to all sizes of firms. “We’re combining knowledge management–expertise and technology–to create tools that allow an attorney to do great things. Blue Pencil Box was my goal to provide the same benefits for attorneys in all types of settings.
The post Legal Innovationators: Blue Pencil Box was first published on Attorney at Law Magazine.