Non-Compete & Executive Compensation Disputes

Executive agreements, compensation plans, and restrictive covenants protect both businesses and the people who run them. As a non-compete and compensation dispute lawyer in Illinois, Allison Cho Law represents companies, executives, physicians, and other professionals in Chicago and the North Shore in disputes over pay, departures, and post-employment restrictions.

Illinois enforces non-compete and non-solicitation agreements only within limits. Beyond the salary thresholds and notice requirements in the Freedom to Work Act, a court asks whether the restriction protects a legitimate business interest, judged on the totality of the circumstances, and whether its length, territory, and scope go no further than needed. Courts may narrow an overbroad covenant or refuse to enforce it at all, and an employee who defeats an employer’s enforcement action under the Act can recover attorney fees. That fee risk changes the calculus for both sides.

Compensation disputes are usually contract disputes. They turn on how a bonus or commission formula is defined, whether a payment was earned or discretionary, when equity vests or is forfeited, and whether severance is conditioned on a release. When a practice or company changes the formula mid-year, the question is whether it had the right to, and for which pay periods. Our article on a medical group that changed its compensation formula walks through those issues.

Departures move quickly. A key employee who joins a competitor, takes customer relationships, or leaves with confidential files can prompt a request for a temporary restraining order within days. Whether you are the business protecting its relationships or the professional being restricted, schedule a consultation before resigning, sending a cease-and-desist letter, or signing a separation agreement.