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You're absolutely right to connect terms about work for competing clients with terms about confidentiality. You're also right that the value of many independent consultants---including attorneys---derives directly from diverse experience within a competitive field.

However, the desire for experience with competitors doesn't exclude valid concerns about ongoing, concurrent relationships serving competitor-clients. To borrow from legal ethics, it's one problem to have information from one client that could be useful to another, and a distinguishable but related problem to face a conflict of interest, with both sides expecting undivided loyalty. Terms about work for competitors assume, practically, that confidentiality obligations will break down when the contractor works for both sides concurrently. We can't build Chinese Walls in our minds, or in small firms of a handful of people.

Back to the terms, note that "Early Termination" gives each side the power to terminate early, with a given number of day's notice, for no reason at all. The main effect of "Conflicts" is to require the contractor to notify the client of potentially concurrent work for a competitor. If the client has concerns, they can terminate immediately, instead of with n days' notice. It's fundamentally about ensuring the client the information they need to make use of their termination right.



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