Can I solicit former clients?

Can I solicit former clients?

Generally speaking, yes — former employees can compete and solicit a former employer’s customers. Often, employers will try to scare former employees into thinking otherwise.

Can you solicit clients?

The short answer is, yes you can communicate or “announce” your new employment. However, if you are bound by an enforceable non-solicitation agreement, you may not solicit the client. But, you can call them, talk to them, talk about the weather, sports, etc. You just cannot “solicit” them.

What is the rule of law for solicitation?

The solicitation rules are designed to help maintain professional decorum. The first rule on the list is that a lawyer may not seek work for a fee by starting a personal or live telephone contact with a prospective client whom he has never met or with whom he has no family or professional relationship.

What are the exceptions to the direct solicitation rule?

There are essentially only three exceptions to such contact: (1) direct contact with clients with whom the lawyer has had a prior professional relationship; (2) direct contact with individuals with whom the lawyer has an established personal relationship; or (3) solicitation of clients for “political” purposes rather …

Are client lists confidential?

In California, reasonable efforts to maintain secrecy are found when the employer had its employees sign a confidentiality agreement that states that the customer list is confidential, and when the employer utilizes security measures to protect the list.

Can you sue someone for stealing customers?

The major legal limitation on your actions is that you may not use your former employer’s customer list, or other trade secrets, to steal his customers. If you do not use any trade secrets, you still may be sued, but you may have a reasonable defense.

What is legal solicitation?

(a) “Solicitation” or “solicit” denotes a communication initiated by or on behalf of a lawyer or law firm that is directed to a specific person the lawyer knows or reasonably should know needs legal services in a particular matter and that offers to provide, or reasonably can be understood as offering to provide, legal …

What counts as soliciting clients?

Solicitation assumes that you make contact with the former client for a purpose – namely, to invite them to hire you or your new employer. That invitation might be express (“Please send work my way at my new address!”) or implicit (“Here’s my business card for where I’m working now”).

What does it mean to solicit a client?

Soliciting business means seeking the business of potential customers. The term usually refers to directly asking potential customers to purchase goods or services, rather than using advertisements. Freelance contractors and other independent business owners often engage in solicitation to seek new customers.

What does poaching clients mean?

Known as “poaching,” having contractors contact your own clients is a risk every business takes when bringing on contractors. Poaching can happen either while the worker is on contract with you or afterward. Either way, though, you can lose the ability to do business with that client.

Is client information a trade secret?

Therefore, the Court indicated that a client list that contained information developed by the employer and not generally known to the public could still constitute a trade secret.