M&A attorneys representing buyers, and their private equity and strategic clients, have long felt comfortable that the courts would uphold restrictive covenants in an acquisition. Even if the restrictive covenant at hand was perhaps somewhat broader than necessary, buyers and their counsel believed that the courts would judiciously apply their “blue pencil” to reform an overbroad covenant to make it enforceable. They also believed that by picking Delaware law and Delaware courts to hear any dispute, their restrictive covenants would be upheld by a court that has a well-deserved reputation for enforcing contracts.Continue Reading A Delaware Surprise: Busting the Limits of Enforceability of Non-Competes in an M&A Transaction under Delaware Law