Trade secrets are often a company’s most valuable asset, and the impact of stolen information can weaken a company’s bottom line.  Trade secret theft can result in loss of competitive advantage, reduced returns and profitability, and devaluation of goodwill.  New technologies and increased employee mobility in today’s global economy present mounting challenges to protect confidential information that can be critical to a business’s success.  Our Trade Secrets practice group assists clients in protecting their valuable information and we also work aggressively to defend our clients against related allegations.  Our practice comprises an interdisciplinary team that draws upon the strengths of our Litigation, Intellectual Property, Labor and Employment, and Privacy and Information Security practices.  We have decades of experience providing guidance on trade secret protection, implementing gatekeeper policies and protective measures, and handling trade secret disputes for a diverse set of clients.

We represent clients in state and federal courts throughout the country in a wide range of disputes concerning confidential information.  Our lawyers have broad experience both asserting and defending cases involving misappropriation of trade secrets, the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, the Defend Trade Secrets Act, the Economic Espionage Act, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, state criminal codes, restrictive covenants, employee raiding, customer raiding, and departures of key employees.

Restrictive Covenants

We provide companies with advice on trade secrets and the restrictive covenants contained in various types of agreements, including employment contracts.  Our attorneys have worked with a wide array of industries to help organizations protect proprietary information, trade secrets and overall competitive interests.  When disputes arise, we represent clients with injunctions and trials in federal and state courts and also help obtain temporary restraining orders to ensure that confidential information is not disclosed and remains protected.  We also regularly advise corporations and individuals on the enforceability of noncompetition and non-solicitation agreements, as well as counseling individuals on employment contract disputes and recruitment issues.

Patent Protection

Attorneys in our patent group work to assure that our clients make well-informed legal decisions about trade secret protection and patent protection.  We regularly counsel clients in a variety of technical fields on the procurement of intellectual property rights, portfolio development and licensing to ensure that our clients’ technology and business is safeguarded.

Risk Mitigation

We also regularly counsel employers to avoid litigation and to mitigate the risk of trade secret theft by assisting in the design and implementation of effective information security programs and policies, auditing the company’s portfolio to identify vulnerabilities, and drafting appropriate employee restrictive covenant agreements.  Our team has a successful track record in obtaining emergency remedies on behalf of clients to solve these problems efficiently and effectively while minimizing business disruption.