It Pays to be Cautious When Asked to Sign a Contract with an Employer

As a Silicon Valley tech transactions attorney, I regularly receive calls from engineers, developers, and other employees in the technology industry who have concerns about something that an employer has asked them to sign in the past or is asking them to sign at the time of the call.  Inevitably the person calling is torn between needing the job or money on the table with the employer and worrying about how the terms of what they have signed or are being asked to sign will affect future opportunities.  I always caution anyone who comes to me in these situations to be wary of what what he or she is signing and to not shrug off the likelihood of a demand letter being sent to a future employer over a term or condition in the current contract.  But not everyone exhibits the caution he or she should about signing documents and sometimes this lack of caution can backfire.  This Above the Law article is a good example of one such situation:

And This is Why Non Compete Clauses are the Worst