Adam Israel Authors Alabama Chapter of PLI’s Noncompete Agreements and Related Restrictive Covenants

Adam Israel, partner in the firm’s Birmingham office and member of the Litigation Practice, authored the Alabama Chapter of PLI’s new publication, Noncompete Agreements and Related Restrictive Covenants.

PLI is a nonprofit learning organization dedicated to keeping attorneys and other professionals at the forefront of knowledge and expertise.

Adam’s chapter provides a comprehensive, practical guide to Alabama’s Restrictive Covenant Act, explaining how the statute—effective January 1, 2016—reshaped and clarified what types of noncompete and non-solicitation agreements are enforceable under Alabama law. He walks readers through the shift away from confusing “partial versus total restraint” case law toward a clear statutory framework that allows only six narrowly defined categories of restrictive covenants. Throughout, Adam underscores Alabama’s strong public policy favoring competition and employee mobility, emphasizing that restrictive covenants are presumed void unless they fall precisely within the statute’s exceptions and meet strict contractual requirements.

A central theme of Adam’s analysis is that enforceability depends as much on careful drafting and timing as it does on business rationale. He highlights frequent pitfalls—agreements signed before employment begins, missing employer signatures, overbroad employee poaching clauses, and restrictions that exceed statutory time limits—that can render a covenant entirely unenforceable. Adam also explains how courts approach key concepts like “protectable interests,” reasonable geographic scope, and duration, and why courts will not rescue agreements that fail to fit within the statute’s allowed categories. His discussion of cases where courts refused to rewrite overly aggressive covenants reinforces a clear warning: Alabama courts expect employers to draft narrow, thoughtful restraints from the outset.

Adam explains why restrictive covenants should never be treated as boilerplate—each agreement must be tailored to a specific statutory exception and supported by identifiable business interests such as trade secrets, customer relationships, or goodwill. He also encourages businesses to regularly audit existing agreements, particularly during hiring, promotions, acquisitions, or restructurings, to ensure signatures, consideration, scope, and timing comply with Alabama law. 

At Balch, a substantial portion of Adam’s practice is devoted to representing businesses and individuals in commercial disputes, including non-compete, non-solicitation, and theft of trade secrets cases in trial and appellate courts. Adam is also regularly involved in complex litigation on behalf of clients in the energy industry and other highly-regulated industries. For example, Adam regularly represents nuclear utilities in ongoing litigation against the federal government arising from the Department of Energy’s delay in disposing of the nation’s commercial spent nuclear fuel.