Moving As A Team
A separate employment law issue is the post termination obligation not to solicit or deal with the clients of your ex-employer. This can be have serious employment law consequences and should be highlighted to any new employer. It may be an area where the ex-employer is less keen to take court action: any court action may require some evidence from the client and may alienate that client from the ex-employer. It may also be the case that there is room for negotiation with the ex-employer, depending on the circumstances, and it may be worthwhile taking some employment law advice of your own, rather than just relying on your new employer.
It is worthwhile, as a precaution, for the leader to sit down with the new employer and check if he already has contacts with the clients, even if those contacts have not yet turned into business. If there are common points of reference it is much harder to show there has been a breach of obligation. If the obligation is simply non-solicitation, there is nothing to stop the new team from ensuring that all the past clients know that the team has moved and where it has moved to: it would be rare that a Court would say that this was sufficient to amount to solicitation. A non dealing clause may mean the team will have to focus on new business from new clients for a certain period of time.
The way to overcome the legal problems inherent in a team move is to think ahead and have strategy based on advice from an experienced lawyer. To overcome the logistical nightmare you will also need the help and advice of a top headhunter.