Dear Bob ... I was laid off last week from a small Telcom software company. No fault of my own, the company has been poorly managed and cut about 1/2 of the remaining positions. One of the things that I am considering doing is hanging out my own shingle in a consulting fashion. I know that I can gain some business from clients and contacts that I had from my previous employer. Are there any problems doing this? Dear Bob …I was laid off last week from a small Telcom software company. No fault of my own, the company has been poorly managed and cut about 1/2 of the remaining positions. One of the things that I am considering doing is hanging out my own shingle in a consulting fashion. I know that I can gain some business from clients and contacts that I had from my previous employer. Are there any problems doing this?– Ready for the next phase Dear Ready …First: Don’t rely on what I’m about to say. If you open your own consulting business and have any concerns at all, make sure you ask a lawyer to you get an expert opinion.That having been said, my understanding of the situation is that you only have an issue if you signed a non-compete agreement. If you did as part of your employment agreement, check the terms. If you did on termination it was in exchange for a severance package (and you wouldn’t be asking me this question since you just signed the sucker). Even there, the only constraint in a typical non-compete is on going after the same kind of business. If you’re asking my opinion about the ethics of soliciting business from your former employer’s clients, I don’t see any problem at all. They laid you off, so they have no claim on your loyalty, even if there was an issue of loyalty to be raised. You have to make a living somehow, and these are people you know who think highly enough of you to want to do business with you. There just isn’t an issue.– Bob ——– Technology Industry