A company I worked for had something like this, basically along the lines of, "you can't poach customers or other employees for a year." You likely could still

A company I worked for had something like this, basically along the lines of, "you can't poach customers or other employees for a year." You likely could still work on your own as a consultant in the same field, but what it appeared to disallow was trying to take your clients with you. The company was acquired, (and that in turn), when the new parent tried rolling out new contracts per employee, with a short turnaround to sign. Among other things, the new version basically would have prevented me from working in my field for a year. I told them I needed time to have it reviewed by my lawyer, and I did too. Sure, the backlash had them rolling back the demand forthwith, but it convinced me that the ideal time to leave was immediately, under my old contract.