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.
Representative 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.
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Focus Areas
Experience
Contacts
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Key Publications
A sampling of recent publications includes:
- “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)
Media
Events
Past Events
Insights
Insights
- 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
- Firm AnnouncementsEpstein Becker Green Continues West Coast Expansion by Adding Employment Attorney Haley Morrison in Portland3 minute read
- Media CoveragePeter Steinmeyer Quoted in “Tully Rinckey's Atty Contracts Offer Warning to Other Firms”2 minute read
- BlogsSpilling Secrets Podcast: Latest Developments – Restrictive Covenants in the Health Care Industry3 minute read
- BlogsVideo: California’s Non-Compete Notice Deadline Approaches, California Workplace Violence Regulations, Estrada3 minute read
- Media CoverageErik Weibust Quoted in “The FTC Is Poised to Ban Noncompetes. Here’s What Experts Say Could Happen Next.” ...3 minute read
- BlogsFree to Forfeit: Delaware High Court Holds Employee Choice Is Proper Lens for Evaluating Forfeiture-for-Competition ...6 minute read
- BlogsTrade Secrets Litigation: 2024 Update2 minute read
- Media Coverage
Five Epstein Becker Green Attorneys Named to the 2024 Illinois Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists
3 minute read - PublicationsTrade Secrets Litigation—2024 Update2 minute read
- BlogsPodcast: Invention Ownership - Why the Tense Matters in Employee IP Provisions – Employment Law This Week3 minute read
- BlogsSpilling Secrets Podcast: Invention Ownership - Why the Tense Matters in Employee IP Provisions3 minute read
- BlogsPreparing for Non-Compete Litigation: 2024 Update2 minute read
- PublicationsPreparing for Non-Compete Litigation—2024 Update2 minute read
- BlogsGarden Leave Provisions in Employment Agreements: 2024 Update4 minute read
- PublicationsGarden Leave Provisions in Employment Agreements—2024 Update4 minute read
- PublicationsNoncompete Report Misinterpreted Critique of FTC Proposal4 minute read
- BlogsVideo: Projections and Perspectives: Navigating Labor and Employment in 2024 - Employment Law This Week2 minute read
- BlogsRoundtable on California’s New Sprawling Noncompete Ban2 minute read
- BlogsVideo: 2023 Labor and Employment Highlights: Key Legal Developments, Trends, and Insights - Employment Law This Week2 minute read
- BlogsA Holiday Miracle for New York Employers and Dealmakers!5 minute read
- PublicationsNew Year, New Changes for California Employers in 202422 minute read
- BlogsShould I Stay or Should I Go? Federal Regulators and Employers May Face Impending Clash Over “Stay or Pay” Clauses in ...6 minute read
- PublicationsNew York Further Restricts Agreements Involving Claims of Discrimination, Harassment, or Retaliation8 minute read
- Media CoverageKimberly Carter Featured in “People on the Move”1 minute read
- BlogsPodcast: Non-Compete Law Update – Key Developments from 2023 – Employment Law This Week2 minute read
- BlogsSpilling Secrets Podcast: Non-Compete Law Update – Key Developments from 20233 minute read
- Media Coverage
Featured in Los Angeles Sentinel: Attorney Kimberly Carter Joins Epstein Becker Green Law Firm
1 minute read - Media Coverage
Featured in Law360: Employment Attorney Kim Carter Joins Epstein Becker Green
2 minute read - Media CoverageKim Carter Featured in “Wake Up Call: Laterals, Moves, In-House”1 minute read
- Media CoverageKim Carter Featured in “Epstein Becker Green Adds Employment Attorney as Member in LA”1 minute read
- Firm AnnouncementsEpstein Becker Green Bolsters West Coast Presence with Employment Attorney Kimberly Carter3 minute read
- BlogsYou Better Watch Out: The OAG Is Stepping Up Enforcement of D.C.’s Non-Compete Ban5 minute read
- BlogsNew York Governor: “Balance” Is Needed on Noncompete Bill2 minute read
- BlogsPreemption Questions Continue as FTC and NLRB Fight Restrictive Covenants5 minute read
- Firm AnnouncementsEpstein Becker Green Announces 2024 Promotions6 minute read
- Firm Announcements
Epstein Becker Green’s Pete Steinmeyer Honored in Crain’s 2023 Notable Leaders in Employment & Labor Law
1 minute read - Firm AnnouncementsEpstein Becker Green’s Edward J. Loya, Jr., Elected as Texas Bar Foundation Fellow3 minute read
- PublicationsCalifornia Makes Its Strict Noncompete Law Even Stricter5 minute read
- PublicationsAn “Overbroad” Noncompete: The National Labor Relations Board Has Found Its First Target2 minute read
- PublicationsWhat Do Cancelling Student Loan Debt and Banning Noncompetes Have in Common?2 minute read
- BlogsMassachusetts Non-Compete Laws: 2023 Update2 minute read
- Media CoverageKate Rigby Quoted in “Training Repayment Agreements: What Employers Need to Know for 2024”2 minute read
- PublicationsNon-Compete Laws: Illinois – Q&A Guide for Employers, 2023 Update2 minute read
- PublicationsNon-Compete Laws: Massachusetts – Q&A Guide for Employers, 2023 Update1 minute read
- BlogsSpilling Secrets Podcast: Attention Employers – How to Protect Trade Secrets in California3 minute read
- BlogsEmployers, Are Your Employee Non-Solicitation Agreements Still Valid in Georgia?3 minute read
- BlogsNLRB Issues Complaint Against Company for Maintenance and Enforcement of Noncompete and Non-Solicit Provisions3 minute read