Restrictive covenants protect against competitive practice

A restrictive covenant on your existing partners is important to governing the practice for its own success. For starters, if you don't impose such restrictions on yourselves, you will find it difficult to justify them to young doctors you bring into membership.

Many groups flounder because they accommodate their partners' varied priorities rather than their best organizational goals. The solution: Make all partners subject to restrictive covenants. In addition, having the restriction apply to all says that the group is more important than any partner.

Yet, even if logical and correct, this advice may not convince a partner to surrender present freedom to stay or leave at will. But if you recognize that your long-term security depends on group success, you may have to accept restrictions.