There Oughta Be A Law

Fresh on the heels of the Ogilvy time sheet case, Adweek reports a new courtroom drama will soon be unfolding. The plaintiff this time is Saatchi & Saatchi. The defendant is a former employee. The reason for the suit? Leaving Saatchi for another agency and allegedly convincing 17 other Saatchi employees to join him a few days later.

Maybe I’m missing a crucial piece of the puzzle here, but I’m a bit confused by the suit. Granted, the circumstances are dramatic and I wouldn’t expect Saatchi to be happy about 18 people quitting in one week, especially if they were all senior employees with solid links to clients. But if leaving was a contractual no-no, why did any of them even consider doing it? And I can’t see the new agency that hired them doing so if they really thought they’d be legally prevented from working there. Plus, they didn’t take any business with them, and according to the article, sources at Saatchi's clients say they don’t plan on moving any business from Saatchi.

Sure, if the defendant violated a specific part of his contract, then case closed. But what if it's not so clear cut? Are we all in “breach of loyalty” any time we find a better job?