CBA Record July-August 2021

Y O U N G L A W Y E R S J O U R N A L

their revenue from selling “submarine,” “hero-type,” “deli-style,” “pita,” and/or “wrapped” or “rolled sandwiches.” Later that year, the General Assembly enacted the Illinois Freedom to Work Act. Among other things, the Act made covenants not to compete unenforceable for low-wage employees. This suggested that the leg- islature determined that restricting the post-employment actions of low-wage employees was never necessary to protect a legitimate business interest, whatever that interest was. In late May 2021, the General Assem- bly further emphasized the relationship between pay and the enforceability of restrictive covenants by passing legislation to amend the Act. The proposed amend- ments not only codify the two-year rule, but also raise the income limits below which a covenant not to compete is unen- forceable. In effect, Illinois will prohibit non-competition agreements not only for low wage workers, but also for middle income workers whose income is below a T he Young Lawyers Section closed out the 2020-2021 bar year with a live, virtual annual meeting hosted by Chair Jeffrey Moskowitz and First Vice Chair Tracy Brammeier. The YLS turned 50 this year. Despite the pandemic, leadership and members adapted to the changed landscape. Their accomplishments were considerable – from the Talk Legal Series to the Racial Justice Coalition to CLEs and volunteer events. “When this year started, I do not think anyone knew just how tough, how resilient, and how steadfast our leadership, staff, and members could be. I am so thankful to all of you for your partnership. There is no doubt, we were stronger together,” said Moskowitz. The YLS honored outstanding members and bestowed the Liberty Bell Award to an individual who works to promote the ideals of justice, liberty, and community responsibility. The Liberty Bell winner, Brian Leverenz, is the Community Service Administrator of NewTrier Township and

certain threshold.

to the second anniversary of accepting the covenant not to compete. In summary, Illinois courts are generally weary of restrictive covenants. Courts will confirm that covenants protect the employ- er’s legitimate business interest and will not cause an undue burden on the employee before enforcement. As discussed, however, consideration also is a necessity to enforce any restrictive covenant. Indeed, if the goal is to make the covenant enforceable once signed, the best practice is to counsel our clients to provide adequate consideration for such a promise.

Potential Options As the Illinois legislature continues to scrutinize covenants not to compete as well as the connection between their enforce- ability and employee pay, ensuring that any covenant not to compete is supported by sufficient consideration has never been more important. Pairing a covenant not to compete with a bonus – such as an ini- tial signing bonus, an end-of-year bonus, or a holiday bonus – is a simple way to ensure enough consideration is provided to reduce any concern that the covenant may be found unenforceable. This solution is simple because, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 44% of workers in com- panies with over 100 employees and 37% of workers in companies with less than 100 employees already receive some sort of bonus. Employers that link covenants not to compete with bonuses will better assure themselves of protection even in situations where an employee resigns prior founder of their Peer Jury Program. Under his leadership, the program delivers excep- tional juvenile justice while developing a deep respect for the law from offenders and jurors. YLS members Jacob Chodash, Theo- dore Kontopoulos, Gavin Phelps, and John Romanucci were awarded the David C. Hilliard Award for Outstanding Commit- tee Service for their leadership of the YLS Business Law Transactions Committee. Kernisha Padilla received the Rising Star Award for her work on Talk Legal, Lunch with a Judge, Connectworking, and as Committee Chair of the Women in the Law Committee. The awards segment of the meeting concluded with Chastidy Burns, Marty Gould, and Kenny Matusze- wski receiving the Milton H. Gray Award for Outstanding Project Leadership for their work in creating the Racial Justice Coalition. Moskowitz passed the gavel to Tracy Brammeier for the 2021-2022 bar year. Brammeier is an attorney at Clifford Law

Jacob A. Chodash is an associate at Eckhart Kolak LLC, whose prac- tice focuses on mergers and acquisitions as well as general business and tax law matters.

YLS Closes Out Year with Virtual Annual Meeting By Ann Glynn, CBA Public Affairs Director

Offices, P.C. where she focuses on aviation, transportation, premises, and construction liability in addition to personal injury and wrongful death litigation. “I’m so excited to kick off this new bar year and thrilled to be working with our wonderful Executive Committee,” said Brammeier. “We are hopeful we’ll be seeing folks in person more as soon as they are able. We have got many great things hap- pening in the upcoming year. One of our first key initiatives will be the Spanish for Lawyers Program, which will offer attor- neys an opportunity to help their clients by adding legal vocabulary and language skills to their Spanish proficiency.” The YLS provides great opportunities for professional growth, community ser- vice, and networking to its approximately 7,000 members, who include attorneys in their first 10 years of practice and law students. Watch the program on YouTube at www.youtube.com/chicagobar.

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