When Your Life Sciences Are on the Line: FTC’s Final Noncompete Rule

MoFo Perspectives Podcast

Morrison Foerster Investigations + White Collar Defense partner Nate Mendell, former Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, hosted the third episode of When Your Life Sciences Are on the Line, where leading practitioners and thought leaders share the insights and advice needed to manage business and legal risk in the life sciences sector. In this episode, Nate spoke with David Shaw, a partner in Morrison Foerster’s Global Antitrust Law Group who formerly served as deputy chief of staff and counsel to the Assistant Attorney General in the Antitrust Division of DOJ, and Eric Tate, chair of Morrison Foerster’s Employment + Labor Group, about how the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) final noncompete rule, which was issued on April 23, 2024, will impact life sciences companies. Together, they discuss the practical implications of the new noncompete rule going into effect as early as September of this year and, most importantly, how to protect your company's trade secrets without the safeguard of a noncompete. Additionally, Nate, David, and Eric explored the exceptions to the rule, such as exemptions for: senior executives with noncompetes in place before the rule goes into effect; employees selling their ownership stake in a business for sale or whose assets are for sale; and lesser restrictive covenants, including non-solicitation restrictions, NDAs, and Garden Leave.