>Brian is taking the exact same job at Google! This is what non-competes are for!
No, that was never the initial intention of non-competes. There is only one situation where non-competes make any amount of sense at all. No one should ever sign a non-compete except for the following situation, you are selling a BUSINESS to someone else. That's it. There is no good reason outside of that to ever sign a non-compete. It is reasonable when buying a business to want some insurance that the seller won't turn around and open a competing business across town and steal all their old customers. It is NOT reasonable to say, "Hey, we want you to work for us. But if things turn south you aren't allowed to work anywhere else in your field."