Trade secret misappropriation and wrongful competition often occur with little notice and require a quick response by an experienced team who understands the issues and can develop a strategy appropriate for the client’s situation. Our Trade Secret and Employee Mobility practice comprises a team of intellectual property, employment, corporate, and business litigation specialists who have a wide range of experience with internal investigations, employee mobility counseling, and prosecuting and defending expedited cases in various courts in and around the Mid-Atlantic region, including the Delaware Court of Chancery, Delaware Superior Court and District Court for the District of Delaware.
The scope of our representation includes Fortune 500 companies, corporations, limited liability companies, entrepreneurs, investors and startup entities engaged in a wide array of industries. As a result, we have extensive experience representing business entities, employers, and C-Suite employees in trade secret and employee mobility matters.
Preventing Loss of Trade Secrets and Goodwill
We focus on developing strategies and solutions to prevent disputes over trade secrets and goodwill before they happen.
- Trade Secret and Employee Protection Programs. Our team works with clients to adopt human resources and employment policies designed to eliminate the misappropriation of confidential information and trade secrets. This includes the creation and implementation of enforceable noncompetition and confidentiality agreements to prevent or limit the loss of client goodwill.
- Joint Ventures/Mergers & Acquisitions Protections. Our team works with clients who are involved in negotiations involving mergers and acquisitions or joint ventures to ensure that they have taken the appropriate measures to protect goodwill and proprietary information exchanged during those transactions.
- Employee On/Off Boarding. Our team guides clients through the hiring process for new hires with post-employment restrictions so as to avoid disputes with prior employers. We also counsel clients on effective termination procedures to ensure former employees do not become new competitors.
Conducting Thorough Internal Investigations
Timing is critical to investigating potential theft of trade secrets.
- Investigation of Employee Misuse or Misappropriation. Should a breach of confidentiality occur, our team quickly investigates the severity of the potential loss and develops a plan to remedy any harm. This includes the use of forensics to identify and prevent potential further trade secret usage or disclosure.
Litigating Disputes to Obtain Positive Results
Trade secrets, proprietary information and business relationships are among your most valuable assets.
- Litigation. Our multi-practice team litigates disputes in courts all around the Mid-Atlantic region. Delaware in particular has become a forum of choice for those seeking to protect their intellectual and competitive interests. We have significant experience litigating issues related to trade secrets, non-competition agreements, and non-solicitation agreements before the Delaware Court of Chancery, Delaware Superior Court and District Court for the District of Delaware. We routinely handle expedited cases involving temporary restraining orders, preliminary injunctions, as well as choice of law and venue issues as they relate to efforts to enforce out-of-state agreements.