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Whether you've been served with a cease-and-desist, need to stop a departing employee from walking out the door with your clients, or want to challenge an agreement standing between you and your next opportunity, we are ready to step in. Call us at 813.358.1607, or click below to speak with an experienced, Florida-licensed restrictive covenant attorney today.
What Changed in 2025: The Florida CHOICE AcT
Effective July 1, 2025, Florida's CHOICE Act (Fla. Stat. §§ 542.41–542.45) gave employers a powerful new framework for enforcing restrictive covenants against higher-earning employees and contractors. For qualifying "covered" agreements, the CHOICE Act extends enforceable non-compete terms for as long as four years, shifts the burden onto the employee to prove an agreement is unenforceable, and requires courts to issue a preliminary injunction stopping a departing employee from competing.
Older agreements, and those that fall outside the CHOICE Act, are still governed by Florida's longstanding statute (§ 542.335), where the "reasonableness" of time, geography, and line of business remains the battleground. We litigate under both frameworks, and the first question in any matter is which one controls.
Areas of Focus:
Non-Compete Agreements
Enforcing and defending non-compete restrictions, including litigating the "reasonableness" of geographic and temporal scope under § 542.335 and the heightened enforceability of covered agreements under the CHOICE Act.
CHOICE Act & Garden Leave Agreements
Litigating Florida's 2025 framework, including covered non-compete and garden leave agreements with their four-year terms and mandatory preliminary injunctions, and defending high-earning employees against them.
Non-Solicitation Agreements
Protecting, or challenging, restrictions on the solicitation of established customers and specialized employees, where the line between fair competition and breach is often where cases are won or lost.
Emergency Injunctions
Seeking expedited hearings for temporary restraining orders (TROs) and preliminary injunctions to stop immediate competitive harm and moving just as quickly to defeat or dissolve an injunction sought against you.
Trade Secret Misappropriation
Pursuing and defending claims under the Florida Uniform Trade Secrets Act (FUTSA) and the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) when proprietary data, pricing, or client information is taken to a competitor.
Tortious Interference
Prosecuting and defending claims involving the disruption of advantageous business relationships and contracts, which frequently travel alongside restrictive covenant disputes.
Agreement Review & Audits
Reviewing existing restrictive covenants to confirm they remain enforceable, and CHOICE Act-compliant where intended, amid Florida's rapidly evolving statutory landscape.
GET THE LEGAL HELP YOU NEED
Decisive representation for employers protecting their client relationships and professionals defending their right to move forward
Florida is one of the most active (and now one of the most employer-friendly) jurisdictions in the country for the enforcement of non-compete agreements and restrictive covenants. The 2025 CHOICE Act has reshaped how these agreements are written, enforced, and challenged, and the stakes (and the speed) have only increased.
At The Duarte Firm, we represent both sides of these disputes: employers seeking to protect hard-earned client bases and confidential information, and individuals navigating the next chapter of their careers. Whether you need to secure an emergency injunction or defend against an overbroad agreement, we deliver the immediate, strategic intervention these cases demand.