Overview
As valuable talent moves from job to job, companies are rightly concerned over materials that might leave with a departing employee or arrive with a new one. Our Trade Secrets & Employee Mobility practice group regularly handles the myriad business and legal issues surrounding the movement of personnel and the potential misappropriation of trade secrets.
Employers in every industry rely on our attorneys to help them minimize the risk of both hiring people from, and losing people to, their competitors.
Assessing Hiring Decisions
In the interest of avoiding costly litigation, our clients trust us to weigh in on all important hires and dismissals. We assess their hiring practices in a holistic, risk-managed way. We scrutinize their policies and procedures—their restrictive covenants, non-disclosure and non-solicitation agreements, training programs, protection of trade secrets, IT protocols, and all other potential areas of vulnerability—to weigh risks and recommend ways of mitigating them.
Pursuing Rogue Departures
When former employees breach their contractual or fiduciary obligations, clients turn to us for recourse. From cease-and-desist letters to temporary restraining orders, to preliminary injunction hearings, to full-blown trials, we have both the substantive legal knowledge and the extensive courtroom experience to litigate effectively trade secret and employee mobility cases in all federal and state jurisdictions.
Emotional Considerations
Our long experience with trade secrets and employee mobility makes us unusually sensitive to the raw feelings that sometimes accompany important hiring or firing situations. We help clients deal with the emotional component of these situations—rancor, suspicion, betrayal—in a professional manner that prioritizes business imperatives while heading off counterproductive antipathies.
Focus Areas
Experience
- Persuaded the New Jersey Supreme Court that non-compete agreements for physicians are valid, enforceable, and consistent with, rather than contrary to, public policy. We also convinced the court that our client, an employer-hospital, had a legitimate interest in “protecting [the] investment in the training of a physician,” in addition to traditionally recognized interests in confidential business information, patient lists, and referral sources. This ruling has since been followed in at least five other states.
- Persuaded a court, after a four-day preliminary injunction hearing, not to prohibit our clients (three individuals) from working for their new employer (a laboratory co-defendant). Had the three defendants been barred from working for their new employer, the new employer would have experienced a significant business disruption.
- Convinced the Illinois Court of Appeals to affirm the dismissal of a five-count complaint against two former employees and their new employer for alleged violations of restrictive covenants, alleged tortious interference, and alleged trade secret misappropriation.
- Obtained a default judgment in a trade secret misappropriation case as a sanction for evidence spoliation and lying under oath, and an award to our client of nearly $298,000 in attorney’s fees and costs.
- Convinced a court, after a two-and-a-half week jury/bench trial, to enter a directed finding or directed verdict in favor of two individuals and two corporations on all counts of the case—breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraudulent concealment, and tortious interference.
- Obtained a grant of summary judgment on behalf of a corporate defendant and an individual defendant in a case involving an alleged theft of trade secrets and an alleged breach of contract. A direct competitor of the corporate defendant brought the case, and we served as lead counsel for both defendants.
- Obtained a temporary restraining order prohibiting a former sales manager and his new employer from disclosing or using confidential information, as well as prohibiting the sales manager from soliciting customers or prospective customers or even contacting them.
Contacts
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Media
Events
Upcoming Events
Past Events
Key Publications
A sampling of recent publications includes:
- "Expert Q&A on Legal Challenges to the FTC's Non-Compete Ban," Thomson Reuters Practical Law (July 2024)
- "Expert Q&A on the FTC's Final Rule Banning Post-Employment Non-Competes," Thomson Reuters Practical Law (April 2024)
- “Trade Secrets Litigation,” Thomson Reuters Practical Law (Jan. 2024)
- “Preparing for Non-Compete Litigation,” Thomson Reuters Practical Law (Jan. 2024)
- “Garden Leave Provisions in Employment Agreements,” Thomson Reuters Practical Law (Jan. 2024)
- “Non-Compete Laws: Illinois,” Thomson Reuters Practical Law (Oct. 2023)
- “Non-Compete Laws: Massachusetts,” Thomson Reuters Practical Law (Sept. 2023)
- “Trade Secret Laws: Illinois,” Thomson Reuters Practical Law (Aug. 2023)
- “Lights, Camera … Trade Secrets Action,” Thomson Reuters Westlaw Today (April 2023)
- “Expert Q&A on the FTC’s Proposed Rule Banning Employee Non-Competes,” Thomson Reuters Practical Law (Feb. 2023)
- “Non-Compete Laws: Connecticut – 2022 Update,” Thomson Reuters Practical Law (Dec. 2022)
- “Trade Secret Laws: Connecticut,” Thomson Reuters Practical Law (Aug. 2022)
- “Ethical Issues for Attorneys Related to Restrictive Covenants,” Thomson Reuters Practical Law (Aug. 2022)
- “A Vaccine for ‘Normal,’ but Legal Issues to Consider for Employers,” Chicago Daily Law Bulletin (April 26, 2021)
- “Trade Secrets Law 25 Years After PepsiCo Disclosure Case,” Law360 (Jan. 2021)
- “Hiring from a Competitor: Practical Tips to Minimize Litigation Risk,” Thomson Reuters Practical Law (May 2020)
- “The Future of Force Majeure in Employment Contracts,” Law360 (April 2020)
- “Expert Q&A on Biometrics in the Workplace: Recent Developments and Trends,” Thomson Reuters Practical Law (Feb. 2018)
- “Developing a Plan for Employee Departures in California,” IPWatchdog (June 27, 2017)
Insights
Insights
- BlogsSpilling Secrets Podcast: After the Block - What’s Next for Employers and Non-Competes?2 minute read
- BlogsGeorgia Supreme Court Allows for Employee Non-Solicitation Agreements That Lack Express Geographic Limits3 minute read
- Blogs
Continued Employment May Constitute Sufficient Consideration for Noncompete Agreements in Connecticut, but Uncertainty ...
4 minute read - Blogs
What the FTC Non-Compete Ban Block Means for Employers - Employment Law This Week Video
2 minute read - PublicationsLegal Challenges to the FTC’s Non-Compete Ban2 minute read
- Publications#WorkforceWednesday: Courts Side with Employers – Tip Credit Rule and Non-Compete Ban Struck Down Nationwide3 minute read
- Media CoveragePeter Steinmeyer Quoted in “Fight Over Health Noncompete Pacts Far from Over”3 minute read
- Media CoverageErik Weibust Quoted in “Judge Strikes Down FTC Noncompete Ban Nationwide”4 minute read
- BlogsTexas Court Shoots Down FTC Noncompete Ban Nationwide6 minute read
- Media CoverageStuart Gerson, Erik Weibust, Peter Steinmeyer Quoted in “Will the FTC Non-Compete Ban Happen? Physicians Await Uncertain ...7 minute read
- BlogsFlorida Court Joins Texas Court in Granting Preliminary Injunction Against FTC’s Final Rule Banning Noncompetes, but ...5 minute read
- BlogsSpilling Secrets Podcast: What Is the Future of Non-Compete Agreements for Employers?2 minute read
- PublicationsExpert Q&A on Legal Challenges to the FTC's Non-Compete Ban4 minute read
- BlogsSpilling Secrets Podcast: Can FTC’s Non-Compete Ban Survive Without Chevron Deference?2 minute read
- BlogsSpilling Secrets Podcast: Protecting Trade Secrets with E-Discovery2 minute read
- BlogsAfter Banning Noncompetes, Minnesota Prohibits Non-Solicitation Provisions in Agreements Between Service Providers and ...4 minute read
- BlogsChallenging the FTC’s Noncompete Rule: Epstein Becker Green Submits Amicus Brief on Behalf of 11 National Trade ...7 minute read
- Media CoverageErik Weibust Quoted in “Noncompete Rule Challenge Gets More Backing”3 minute read
- Media CoveragePete Steinmeyer Quoted in “What Employers Need to Know About the FTC Noncompete Ban”2 minute read
- BlogsSpilling Secrets Podcast: FTC Nixes Non-Competes Nationwide—Now What?3 minute read
- Media CoverageLaw360’s Hottest Firms and Stories Features Epstein Becker Green Insight on the Federal Trade Commission's Noncompete ...1 minute read
- Media CoveragePete Steinmeyer Quoted In “The Truth About the New Non-Compete Ban for Banks & Hedge Funds”3 minute read
- BlogsQ&A on the FTC's Final Rule Banning Post-Employment Non-Competes3 minute read
- Media CoverageKate Rigby, Dan Fahey Quoted in “Why the FTC’s Noncompete Rule Will Make Chicago Hospitals Look Over Their Shoulders” ...3 minute read
- PublicationsExpert Q&A on the FTC's Final Rule Banning Post-Employment Non-Competes3 minute read
- Media CoverageErik Weibust Quoted in “Battles Over Noncompete Clauses Poised to Heat Up in Statehouses”3 minute read
- PublicationsThe FTC's Noncompete Rule Is Likely Dead on Arrival2 minute read
- Media CoverageErik Weibust Quoted in “US FTC Votes Through Non-Compete Clause Ban Spelling Uncertainty for Trade Secret Strategy” ...2 minute read
- Media Coverage
Kate Rigby Discusses the FTC’s Noncompete Rule in the Endpoints News Health Tech Newsletter
2 minute read - BlogsThe FTC Finally Pulls the Trigger on a Final Noncompete Rule, with a Few Changes, but Remains Unlikely to Ever Hit Its Target ...7 minute read
- Media CoverageErik Weibust Quoted in “Takeaways from the FTC's Noncompetes Ban”2 minute read
- Media CoveragePeter Steinmeyer Quoted in “New Ban on Noncompetes Could Have Big Impact on Health Care”4 minute read
- Media CoveragePeter Steinmeyer Quoted in “Businesses Face ‘Seismic Shift’ After FTC Bans Noncompetes. Here’s What They Should Do ...2 minute read
- Media CoveragePeter Steinmeyer Quoted in “For Traders, the FTC Ban on Non-Competes Comes with Big Catches”2 minute read
- PublicationsFive Commissioners and a Vote on Noncompetes to Come2 minute read
- BlogsFTC Vote on Rule to Ban Non-Competes Scheduled for April 23rd4 minute read
- BlogsSpilling Secrets Podcast: Navigating Physician Non-Compete Litigation3 minute read
- BlogsNoncompetes Remain Enforceable in Maine Following Governor’s Veto That Recognizes the Importance of Noncompetes by ...3 minute read
- BlogsRed Pencil, Blue Pencil, or Something In Between? Ohio Court of Appeals Declines to Modify Overbroad Non-Competition ...5 minute read
- BlogsWashington State Is Making Worker-Friendly Amendments to Its Noncompete Statute3 minute read
- BlogsPodcast: Bracket-Busting Trade Secret and Non-Compete Disputes in Sports – Employment Law This Week3 minute read
- Media Coverage
Epstein Becker Green Attorneys Elected to Law360’s 2024 Editorial Advisory Boards
3 minute read - BlogsSpilling Secrets Podcast: Bracket-Busting Trade Secret and Non-Compete Disputes in Sports3 minute read
- BlogsWill Illinois Amend the Illinois Freedom to Work Act to Further Limit the Enforceability of Noncompete and Non-Solicitation ...3 minute read
- BlogsCould the City Council of New York City Ban Noncompetes?4 minute read
- Media CoverageHaley Morrison Featured in “Wake Up Call: Laterals, Moves, In-House”1 minute read
- Media CoverageEpstein Becker Green Adds Haley Morrison as Employment Partner1 minute read
- Media CoveragePeter Steinmeyer Quoted in “Tully Rinckey's Atty Contracts Offer Warning to Other Firms”2 minute read
- Firm AnnouncementsEpstein Becker Green Continues West Coast Expansion by Adding Employment Attorney Haley Morrison in Portland3 minute read
- BlogsSpilling Secrets Podcast: Latest Developments – Restrictive Covenants in the Health Care Industry3 minute read