There are few circumstances in the practice of law that require more quick thinking and improvisation than defending a client at a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) hearing mere hours after meeting them for the first time. Yet, frequently this is the exact circumstance that attorneys find themselves in when defending clients against the efforts of their former employers to enforce a restrictive covenant or confidentiality agreement. In the limited time that you have to prepare for a TRO hearing, every second counts.

This is part two of a two-part series. In part one, we identified the 10 questions you should ask if your client is a former employer seeking enforcement of a restrictive covenant or confidentiality agreement. In this second part, we examine the other side of the coin. Most of the issues explored in part one remain pertinent when defending against enforcement, but we have endeavored to avoid repetition. Before you appear on behalf of your defendant client at a TRO hearing, here are 10 questions that you will want to ask. Obtaining quick and accurate answers to these may not only determine your client’s fate at the impending TRO hearing, it may shape the course of the entire litigation.

Originally published in Law360 - July 2015.