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Ali Mojibi

Ali is a trial lawyer who has tried cases for leading global businesses in telecommunications, medical devices, and biotech. IP Law360 and other media have covered Ali’s skillful trial work. Most recently, Ali served as trial counsel for Flatiron Health in a bench trial in SDNY and, prior to that, for Johnson & Johnson in a three-month trial in California Superior Court.

Ali advises clients with their most complex legal challenges in matters that benefit most from his diverse background (engineering, medical sciences, and sales):

  • Patent and trade secret litigation
  • Product liability
  • Technology and healthcare litigation
  • Enforcement of restrictive covenants (non-competes and non-solicitation)
  • Founder/executive disputes (corporate ownership and control)
  • Licensing disputes

On the heels of approving SB 699, which heightened the protections and reach of California’s prohibition of employee non-competes under California Bus. & Prof. Code Section 16600 (“Section 16600”) (see our blog post here), Governor Gavin Newsom has now signed AB 1076. AB 1076 further increases the litigation risk for employers that use employee non-competes and, most notably, requires employers to provide notice of any non-competes to current and former employees by early next year. Together, these two new laws, which take effect on January 1, 2024, reinforce California’s strong public policy against employee non-competes and specify new consequences for employers who seek to enforce or enter into such agreements.

As a reminder, SB 699 adds new Bus. & Prof. Code Section 16600.5 to: (1) prohibit an employer or former employer from attempting to enforce a contract (e.g., a non-compete) that is void under Section 16600; (2) grant current, former, and even prospective employees a private right of action for damages and injunctive relief, and to recover attorney’s fees and costs; and (3) expand the territorial reach of California’s prohibition of employee non-competes to apply “regardless of where and when the contract was signed.”Continue Reading California Doubles Down with Yet Another Law on Employee Non-Competes

California non-compete law has just been shaken-up—and the ripples are likely to travel across the country. For decades and save for narrow exceptions, California Business and Professions Code § 16600 has made post-employment non-competes unenforceable due to their potential to unduly restrain an individual’s business or profession. Effective January 1, 2024, however, Senate Bill 699 (“SB 699”) drastically expands both the protections and the reach of California’s prohibition on employee non-competes.

Specifically, SB 699:

  • prohibits an employer or former employer from even attempting to enforce a contract that is void under Section 16600;
  • grants current, former, and even prospective employees a private right of action for damages and injunctive relief—and to recover attorney’s fees and costs; and
  • applies to all non-competes “regardless of where and when the contract was signed.”

Continue Reading Will California’s SB 699 Shake Up Non-Compete Law Everywhere?