The Texas Supreme Court delivered its eagerly anticipated opinion in Marsh USA, Inc. v. Cook on June 24, 2011. The issue in Marsh: whether the employee's exercise of stock options could constitute an interest sufficient to support his agreement not to compete. The Court held that it did, sparking new debate among practitioners about the extent to which employers may essentially buy employees' agreement to covenant not to compete.

To understand the greater implications of Marsh, it is important to place it in historical context.