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Foreign. Welcome to Ask Allison. Y' all ask the questions about having a fun and thriving practice and I answer them. We have a worksheet for you today so you can bring this answer into your life. You can Access that@AbundancePracticeBuilding.com links where you'll also be able to ask any questions you have for Ask Allison. If you want more support, we've got some free trainings in there too. If you can't get enough Ask Allison, check out our YouTube channel for our entire Ask Allison library. Welcome back to Ask Allison. Here's today's question. Hi, I'm planning to leave the group practice I've been working at for the last three years. I've heard different things. Can I bring my group practice clients with me to my practice? Great question. We're going to dive in. But first I want to thank Therapy Notes for sponsoring Ask Allison. They are my top choice practice practice management system. I've talked about them for years. I want you to know what sets them apart is that they genuinely care about your experience. It is not just about troubleshooting. They actively implement user suggested features like secure messaging, clinical outcome tracking, real time insurance checks, and their AI feature, Therapy Fuel. Everyone at TherapyNotes believes in the product and they want you to love it too. Plus, they're independently owned, which means no venture capital, no pressure to prioritize investors over customers. This independence allows them to keep their prices fair, to focus on innovation, and to prioritize customer experience. With over 100,000 therapists already on board, they've proven you don't have to compromise success for quality. If you're ready to see for yourself, try TherapyNotes free for two months. Use the code abundantherapynotes.com okay, I am of the very firm belief that ethically, those are your clients. They do not belong to the group. But the world doesn't always run according to my preferences. So before you pack your bags and tell your clients to follow you, there are a few crucial ethical and legal considerations that need to be addressed. So let's talk about what's really going on when it comes to client ownership, non compete, and your rights as a therapist when you make a move. Okay, let's get straight to it. Can you take your clients with you? The answer is say it with me. It depends. I'm sorry. There are a few key factors that are going to determine whether or not you can take your clients with you, and it mostly comes down to the contracts you've signed and the legal agreements you've made. With the agency or the practice you're leaving. The first thing to think about is whether or not you signed a non compete clause as a part of your employment or contract with your current practice. A non compete clause typically says that you agree not to solicit clients from the practice if you leave now. Here's the thing, these clauses don't always hold up in court and in some states they're banned because ultimately your clients have the right to choose who they want to see. However, just because ethics and the law might be on your side doesn't mean you can act recklessly. How you handle this situation is still extremely important and it's all about making sure you're respectful of the relationships you've built with both your clients and the practice that you're leaving. So even though non compete clauses often don't hold up in court, there's still an ethical approach to taking clients with you when you leave. There is the risk that the group practice owner will sue you for breach of contract if you've signed a non compete. Even if they don't win, it's still going to be expensive and stressful for you. So here's what I recommend you do. First, review your contract. Take a look at any agreements you signed when you joined the practice. Read the fine print, especially if you sign something with a non compete clause or any language that restricts your ability to take clients with you. Get in touch with an employment attorney for professional review. It is better to know what's legally binding than get caught in a tricky situation. Next, if the lawyer that you spoke to gives the okay, have an open conversation. If you didn't sign a non compete or if your contract is vague on the issue, it's time to have an honest conversation with the practice owner or manager. Ask them how they would like you to handle client transitions. Don't assume that it's okay to take clients and run. Be really transparent with the practice and be sure to keep your clients rights at the forefront of the discussion. If your practice owner is open and understanding, they may give you the green light to let your clients know where you're going and offer them the option to either follow you to your new practice or stay in the current practice. That is what you should be offering. If you have the ability to never just assume your clients want to come with you, you always need to give them the option of staying. Also, number three, Be transparent with your clients. You need to be upfront with your clients about what's happening. Let them know where you're going. And this is again, if your non compete situation allows for it. And if the practice says cool, let them know where you're going. Give them the choice to follow you. Continue working with someone else at the current practice. You must emphasize that it's their choice to make. Don't manipulate or pressure your clients into following you if they're not ready or they don't want to. I'm sure you wouldn't do that, but I'm just saying it anyway. Their trust is the most important thing and you want to make sure that they feel in control of their therapeutic journey. So what happens if you signed a non compete? Let's say you did sign a non compete or an agreement that has some tricky language about client transitions. If that's the case, you need to proceed very carefully. Some contracts, for example, say you can take clients with you, but you have to pay a fee to the practice for each session the client attends with you with your new practice. This is one of those gray areas that can get really complicated. So it's really important to get good legal advice before making any decisions. If you're feeling uncertain about what your contract means or how it might affect your ability to move clients, consult an employment attorney. They can really help clarify what's enforceable, what's not, and what your options are for navigating the transition. And there are many of you who never signed a single thing when you started working because the group practice you worked at didn't have the proper systems in place. You should have signed something if there is, and not a non compete. But you should have signed some forms if you signed nothing, if it was a handshake agreement, if there is nothing that says how much you can, you're making procession, those kinds of things, then you should be safe to take your clients with you. Again, give them the option to stay in the group if the group practice owner has somebody that they can work with. All right, I want to give some perspective as a group practice owner just so that you have some insight from the other side. In my practice, I would never ever, ever have a non compete clause because I truly believe that that therapeutic relationship is more important than anything else, including business profits. If a therapist is leaving my practice and their clients want to continue seeing them, I fully support that. The client's relationship with their therapist should absolutely, obviously in my mind, take priority over any kind of revenue loss or business arrangement. It can be really tough from a business perspective when a therapist leaves, especially if they've built up a solid client base. But at the end of the day, if a client has a relationship with a particular therapist and the therapist is moving on, I want them to follow that therapist. It's about providing the best care for the client, even if it means losing business temporarily for a group. Now going to get real with you for a moment. You got a cya. As much as it feels like the right thing to do, you still need to make sure you're legally protected when you're making that transition. I know that reading contracts can feel like a pain, but it is important to understand what you've agreed to. If you have any doubts about the contract you signed, take it to a lawyer who specializes in employment. Don't trust that everything's going to be fine. Having a professional review the documents can save you a ton of stress down the road. It's not going to cost a ton. Even if you feel really confident that your clients have the right to choose who they work with, remember that it's always better to be proactive and make sure that you're in the clear. So no matter what, the client's needs should always come first. It's easy to get caught up in the business concerns or fear of losing clients, but the therapeutic relationship is at the core of what we do. Your clients trust you with incredibly personal and sensitive information and the last thing you want to do is betray that trust by being unethical in how you handle a transition. So keep the conversations with your clients open and transparent with regards to their options. Do not bash the practice. Even if the owner is acting like a horrible person, which does happen sometimes, let them know they have options. Make sure they know you're prioritizing their well being throughout the transition. So final thoughts if you are considering making the leap into private practice, I know it can feel daunting. There's a lot to think about from the legal stuff to setting up your business transitioning clients. But remember, you don't have to do it alone. There are resources and communities out there to help you navigate this process with confidence. If you're ready to move into private practice and you want some support, join us in the Abundance party. It's an incredible community of therapists who are making that leap and we provide support, step by step, guidance and support so that you can succeed. And if you're struggling with this whole client transition thing, I'm here for you. If you want to DM me the word sheets, I will send you this week's free worksheet. Working in group practice versus going out on your own. You'll also get access to all the previous worksheets in the series. You'll get step by step guidance on how to navigate these tricky situations, how to make ethical decisions, how to keep your business moving forward. All right. I hope that you're doing well and I will talk with y' all soon. If you're ready for a much easier practice, TherapyNotes is the way to go. Go to therapynotes.com and use the promo code abundant for two months free. I hope that helped. If you have questions for Ask Allison or you wanna get your hands on the worksheet for this episode, go to abundancepracticebuilding.com Links if you're listening, you probably need some support building your practice. If you're a super newbie, grab our free checklist using the link in the show notes. I'd love for you to follow rate and review but I really want you to share this episode with a therapist friend. Let's help all our colleagues build what they want.