Restrictive Covenant and Confidentiality Breaches

Restrictive covenants and confidentiality

When a senior employee resigns, the risk to your business does not depart with them. Intellectual property, client goodwill, and market position can all be compromised in the aftermath of a departure.

At Watershed, we help employers protect what matters most, enforcing restrictive covenants and safeguarding sensitive information before, during, and after an employee exits.

Decisive protection against post-exit risks

Legal restrictions placed on employees after they leave a business, non-compete, non-solicitation, and confidentiality obligations are most valuable as a deterrent. We draft and enforce covenants designed to prevent issues arising, and to act as a strong deterrent where litigation is rarely needed. We provide practical, commercially attuned advice to employers navigating these high-stakes moments.

Whether an employee is defecting to a competitor or unlawfully contacting your clients, our role is to help you:

• Enforce post-termination restrictions, including non-compete, non-solicitation, and non-dealing clauses
• Prevent misuse of confidential information through swift correspondence and undertakings
• Challenge unlawful competition, especially where third parties knowingly benefit from a breach
• Secure undertakings from employees and new employers to prevent further violations
• Assess legal and commercial options, advising when to escalate, and when to resolve quietly

Pragmatic by design. Strategic in execution.

Not every breach demands full-scale litigation. In fact, the most effective outcomes are often those reached early, discreetly, and decisively. Our approach is to intervene swiftly, limit damage, and resolve matters proportionately.

We work closely with in-house teams to:

• Rapidly assess what is truly at stake – be it revenue, reputation, or regulatory risk
• Communicate with employees and new employers to secure binding commitments
• Negotiate enforceable undertakings that reflect the realities of your business
• Collaborate with litigation counsel where injunctions or damages claims become necessary

Our distinctive advantage

Watershed operates exclusively for employers. This clarity of perspective shapes everything we do:

• Employer-only focus – We never act for individuals, avoiding conflicts and ensuring unambiguous advice.
• Hands-on experience – We frequently advise on complex departures, including C-suite exits and team moves.
• Commercial insight – We understand that litigation is a tool, not a strategy. Our advice always weighs legal remedy against business risk.
• Organisational understanding: Through our partnership with Collinson Grant, we grasp the wider context, from leadership change to M&A.

Recent mandates

• Negotiated enforceable undertakings from a former employee and their new employer following the unlawful use of sensitive commercial data
• Advised an employer who had hired a strategically important candidate later found to be bound by restrictive covenants, navigating a solution that preserved the hire and mitigated legal exposure
• Guided a client through a dispute with a competitor taking a “hardball” stance on post-termination restrictions, developing a tactical response that de-escalated risk while preserving client relationships

Why this matters

Restrictive covenants are only as valuable as your willingness to enforce them. Yet enforcement is not just about going to court, it is about shaping behaviour, protecting relationships, and setting clear boundaries in the market.

At Watershed, we don’t treat these matters as routine. We treat them as critical moments in the life of your business.