Non Compete & Non Solicitation

[VolAgent]

Somarco and John give great advice here.

No one is going to care that an agent or two leave shortly after you. The GA will just chalk it up as malcontents, and will probably be right.

But if you think 15 agents is going to follow you without you breaking your non-solicit, you are crazy. Also, you are crazy to think the GA and NWM will just turn a blind eye to a mass exodus.

If I were you, I'd specifically ask the Guardian GA not to recruit from your old NWM agency for awhile. You'll be assumed guilty whether you are or not.

 

[JimYoung]

Would it help if I had all of them resign before I resigned?
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And would it matter what state I'm in?

 

[xrac]

Somarco and John give great advice here.

No one is going to care that an agent or two leave shortly after you. The GA will just chalk it up as malcontents, and will probably be right.

But if you think 15 agents is going to follow you without you breaking your non-solicit, you are crazy. Also, you are crazy to think the GA and NWM will just turn a blind eye to a mass exodus.

If I were you, I'd specifically ask the Guardian GA not to recruit from your old NWM agency for awhile. You'll be assumed guilty whether you are or not.

If a lawsuit is filled against you it can easily cost you $20,000 to defend yourself and never go to court. If it goes to court the tab rises to $40,000 and up even if you win.

 

[LGilmore]

How long have these agents been working for NWM? The company is not going to care if 15 agents leave with you. They won't. However, the minute anyone of them twists off business, then you'll get pounded. If they leave MWM, they leave those clients and renewals as well.

Are you certain you'll have 15 give up anything they have with NWM for you? I think any agent with a decent book of business is going to wish you luck and that's about it.

If they leave and go to work for you, make it clear that they have to leave old clients alone for that time period required. Term clients, different story, but any permanent clients, leave alone.

 

[Norwayguy]

Would it help if I had all of them resign before I resigned?
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And would it matter what state I'm in?

No it wouldn't....Its ethically worse as a sales manager for NWM you tell Agents of NWM to quit for the express purpose of following you eventually to Guardian...Better hire the attorney now.

 

[somarco]

If a lawsuit is filled against you it can easily cost you $20,000 to defend yourself and never go to court. If it goes to court the tab rises to $40,000 and up even if you win.

It can and will cost more than that if it goes to court. Then if you get a decision they will appeal and this can go on and on until you run out of money or cave.

$20k is just a starting point. You can easily get $100k tied up in fighting this.

I was lucky. I got a settlement offer before it ever escalated to court.

Of course the settlement was, they will drop the suit if I agree not to counter sue.

Which means I forfeited the money I spent defending a BS suit.

 

[JimYoung]

Wow, how does anyone ever switch firms without getting into any trouble? I do not even consider myself as a "huge" producer by any means.

Am I suppose to just reject the employment of any of the previous NWM's agents?

 

[somarco]

There is a reason why companies require non-compete agreements. You are not obligated to sign them.

If you are as good as you think you are there should be no problem recruiting, training and selling without violating the non-compete.

I have moved several times during my career and only sued once. The only reason they sued, 23 months after I left, was because the guy they eventually hired to replace me couldn't sell rubber rafts from a neon lighted booth on the Titanic.

Between the company dragging their feet in hiring someone, and then making a really stupid move by hiring him, they had lost 80% of the business I placed during my tenure.

In an attempt to keep his job, my replacement complained that I was stealing their accounts.

That was all it took for them to file suit.

They had no proof of anything and never would be able to prove it because I left their business alone. There was plenty of new to write without stealing from them.

 

[JimYoung]

That one complaint alone cost you 20k without having to make an appearance in court? Jeez.

 

[GeminiGroup]

Completely unrelated to your case but my friend was sued by an insurance company - it cost $60,000 to defend himself, he lost and filed bankruptcy.

I'll bite, what was your friend accused of doing? Was the 60k all for legal defense or did he/she end up paying some sort of penalty after being found in the wrong?

Just asking to see if this was something the average agent should be careful of or if they just did something outrageous.