Non-Compete Attorneys in Northern Virginia
Many Non-Competes Do Not Hold Up. Find Out If Yours Does.
Many non-competes are overly broad or unenforceable under Virginia law. We review what you signed, tell you whether it holds up, and draft agreements that properly protect your business across Northern Virginia.
✓ Northern Virginia
✓ Worker or Business
✓ Tested Against the 2025 Law
Virginia Limits Non-Competes
A New Law Just Made Many Non-Competes Unenforceable
$76,081
2025 wage line below which non-competes are banned in Virginia
Non-Exempt
As of July 2025, banned for all overtime-eligible workers
Reasonable
Even valid ones must be limited in scope, time, and area
Source: Code of Virginia § 40.1-28.7:8 (as amended, effective July 1, 2025).
Virginia has steadily narrowed non-competes. As of July 1, 2025, they are banned for any employee entitled to overtime under federal law, in addition to the existing ban for workers earning below the state wage threshold. Many agreements still in circulation are no longer enforceable.
Signed a Non-Compete? It May Not Be Worth the Paper.
A non-compete can feel like a wall between you and your next job, but in Virginia, that wall is often weaker than it looks. Courts here are skeptical of restrictions that keep people from earning a living, and the legislature continues to add limits.
As of July 1, 2025, Virginia bans non-competes for any worker who is non-exempt under federal overtime law, regardless of pay, and for low-wage employees earning below the state threshold, about $76,081 in 2025. Even where a non-compete is allowed, it must be reasonable in its scope, its duration, and its geography, or a court can refuse to enforce it.
We review what you signed and tell you plainly whether it holds up. For business owners, we draft restrictions that actually protect legitimate interests, such as trade secrets and client relationships, without overreaching into the unenforceable.
Schedule a ConsultationWhere We Come In
- ✓ A non-compete is standing between you and a new job
- ✓ You are not sure whether what you signed is even enforceable
- ✓ A former employer is threatening to enforce a restriction
- ✓ You are non-exempt or below the wage line and were asked to sign
- ✓ You run a business and need protections that will hold up
- ✓ You want a non-solicit or NDA that a court will actually enforce
What We Handle
Non-Compete & Covenant Matters We Handle
We test what you signed against current Virginia law and draft restrictions that actually hold up.
Enforceability Review
A clear read on whether your non-compete holds up under current Virginia law.
Low-Wage & Non-Exempt Bans
Whether the 2025 ban voids the restriction you were asked to sign.
Non-Solicitation Clauses
Limits on contacting clients or coworkers, tested for reasonable scope.
Confidentiality & NDAs
Trade-secret and confidentiality protections that survive where non-competes fail.
Enforcement & Defense
Responding when a former employer threatens to enforce a covenant.
Employer Drafting
Restrictions built to protect a business and stand up in a Virginia court.
Why Workers and Businesses Call Us
We Know the New Law
The July 2025 amendment changed who can be bound. We apply the current rule, not the old one.
We Test for Reasonableness
Scope, duration, and geography decide enforceability. We measure your agreement against all three.
Workers and Businesses
We free employees from overbroad restrictions and draft enforceable ones for employers.
We Protect What Counts
Where a non-compete fails, a well-drafted NDA or non-solicit often still protects the business.
What to Expect
How Working With Us Begins
1
Consultation
Tell us your situation and what you signed. We find the issues that matter most and where you stand.
2
Read the Agreement
We measure the restriction against the 2025 law and the reasonableness test, then tell you plainly whether it holds up.
3
Free or Protect
We respond to a threat, clear your path to the new job, or draft restrictions that protect a business, with a clear plan.
4
Resolve or Try It
We push for the strongest resolution available and are fully prepared to take it to court if a dispute does not settle.
Attorney Insight
“Clients bring me non-competes assuming they are trapped, and very often they are not. Virginia courts do not like restrictions that stop people from working, and the legislature keeps shrinking what is allowed. As of July 2025, if you are entitled to overtime, a non-compete against you is simply banned, no matter what you signed. Even for higher earners, the restriction has to be reasonable in scope, time, and territory or a judge can throw it out. For employers, that is not bad news, it is direction: a tight, reasonable agreement that protects real trade secrets beats a sweeping one that a court ignores.”
Anthony I. Shin, Esq.
Founder, Shin Law Office
Common Questions
Answers Before You Call
Is my non-compete enforceable in Virginia?
It depends on your pay, your role, and the terms. As of July 2025, non-competes are banned for overtime-eligible and low-wage workers, and even allowed ones must be reasonable. We review yours and tell you where it stands.
What changed in 2025?
Virginia expanded its ban to cover any employee entitled to overtime under federal law, regardless of earnings, on top of the existing ban for workers below the state wage threshold of about $76,081.
My old employer is threatening to enforce one. What now?
Do not panic and do not ignore it. We assess whether the restriction is even valid, respond on your behalf, and defend you if they try to enforce something a court is unlikely to uphold.
What makes a non-compete reasonable?
It must be no broader than needed to protect a legitimate business interest, and limited in how long it lasts, where it applies, and what it restricts. Overbroad agreements often fail.
I am an employer. Can I still protect my business?
Yes. We draft narrowly tailored non-competes where they are still allowed, and rely on enforceable non-solicitation and confidentiality agreements to protect clients and trade secrets.
Are NDAs and non-solicits also banned?
No. Virginia’s restrictions target non-competes. Confidentiality agreements and reasonable non-solicitation clauses remain valuable tools, and we draft them to hold up.
Find Out If Your Non-Compete Holds Up
Before you turn down a job or sign a restriction, get a straight answer on whether it is even enforceable under Virginia’s new law. Serving employees and employers across Northern Virginia.
Prefer to talk now? Reach Anthony I. Shin, Esq. at 571-445-6565.
Based in Loudoun County and serving clients across Virginia, Washington DC, and Maryland, we know that when everything’s on the line, the right attorney doesn’t just make a difference, they determine the outcome.
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Copyright © 2026 Shin Law Office, PLC. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2026 Shin Law Office, PLC. All rights reserved.
Reproduction of any content on this site is prohibited except for individual, non-commercial, informational use. This limited permission does not allow modification, distribution, or incorporation of any content into other works or publications in any medium. You may not reproduce or distribute content from this site to any third party.