Ask HN: How common are one-way attorney fees in a non-compete?

1 pointthrow_away_7774 comments

The title says it all, I am wondering how common it is to have one-way attorney fees (where the employee is on the hook for legal costs, but the employer is not)? This seems unfair to me. Would you sign a non-compete that had one-way attorney fees?

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All attorneys fees clauses in California are two-way, even if they are written as one-way. A lot of employers don't know this and it actually favors the employee, so I'd not mention it.

As a consultant, I see this all the time. As an employee I only experienced this one time and requested an addendum to the NDA/Non-compete contract.

Thanks for the response. Did the company amend the contract as you requested?

Yes. When requesting any change to a standard contract, be respectful and give clear and reasonable justification for the request. Also, it helps if you have legal advice prior. These days, I generally run all my contracts through my lawyer and respond with any questions or changes with a "my attorney recommends..."

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