PROFESSOR SAMANTHA PRINCE, LAW PROFESSORS, AND LAW STUDENTS FILE PUBLIC COMMENTS WITH THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
April 2023 — Professor Samantha Prince was joined by law professors and law students from across the nation in a public comment responding to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) proposal to ban most non-compete clauses as an unfair method of competition.
The public comment overall indicated support for the ban. The comment outlined how the evidence strongly supports a finding that non-compete clauses are unfair methods of competition and that non-compete clauses negatively impact workers and their families. Further, the comment considered the harms associated with non-compete agreements tied to the housing market and asset management markets. The comment also notes that the FTC’s proposed rule protects small businesses and entrepreneurs by exempting sales of businesses from the ban. Lastly, the comment encouraged the FTC to consider a multi-factor test for non-compete applicability pertaining to senior executives.
The comment will be reviewed by the Federal Trade Commission as part of the official rulemaking process.
Professor Prince collaborated with law students at the Thomas & Mack Legal Clinic, William S. Boyd Law School, University of Nevada, Las Vegas to produce the comments. Law professors from ten law schools together with law students from UNLV and Penn State Dickinson Law joined in the comment.
Professor Samantha Prince is an Assistant Professor of Law and Director of Legal Analysis & Writing at Dickinson Law. She has a Master of Laws in Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center and was a partner in a regional law firm where she handled transactional matters that ranged from an initial public offering to regular representation of a publicly-traded company. Most of her clients were small to medium sized businesses and entrepreneurs, including start-ups. A significant part of her practice was in employee benefits and the taxation thereof. An expert in entrepreneurship law, she established the Dickinson Law entrepreneurship program, is an advisor for the Entrepreneurship Law Certificate that is available to students, and is the founder and moderator of the Inside Entrepreneurship Law blog.