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:
- “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)
- “Trade Secrets Litigation," Thomson Reuters Practical Law (Feb. 2023)
- “Preparing for Non-Compete Litigation,” Thomson Reuters Practical Law (Feb. 2023)
- “Garden Leave Provisions in Employment Agreements," Thomson Reuters Practical Law (Feb. 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
- 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
- PublicationsWhat Do Cancelling Student Loan Debt and Banning Noncompetes Have in Common?2 minute read
- PublicationsAn “Overbroad” Noncompete: The National Labor Relations Board Has Found Its First Target2 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
- Media CoverageErik Weibust Provides Substantive Guidance on Restrictive Covenants and Their Enforcement2 minute read
- BlogsCalifornia Expands Noncompete Restrictions4 minute read
- PublicationsTrade Secret Laws: Illinois – Q&A Guide for Employers, 2023 Update1 minute read
- BlogsTrade Secret Laws: Illinois – Q&A Guide for Employers, 2023 Update1 minute read
- BlogsFrom the Basketball Court to Federal Court: The New York Knicks Sue the Toronto Raptors for Theft of Confidential Information ...7 minute read
- Media CoverageSharon Peters Featured in “People on the Move”1 minute read
- Media CoverageAndrew Lichtenstein Featured in “On the Move”1 minute read
- Media CoverageAndrew Lichtenstein Featured in “Epstein Becker Picks Up Ex-O'Melveny Atty in LA”2 minute read
- Firm AnnouncementsEpstein Becker Green Continues West Coast Expansion with Employment Attorney Andrew Lichtenstein in Los Angeles ...2 minute read
- BlogsSpilling Secrets Podcast: NLRB General Counsel Issues Memo on Non-Competes3 minute read
- PublicationsNovel NLRB Action Highlights Aggressive Noncompete Stance2 minute read
- BlogsAn Update on the New York Noncompete Ban: It Is Unlikely the Governor Will Sign It Anytime Soon5 minute read
- BlogsWhat Do Cancelling Student Loan Debt and Banning Noncompetes Have in Common? The Supreme Court’s Recent Student Loan ...14 minute read
- BlogsReminder: Minnesota Non-Compete Ban Takes Effect on Saturday, July 12 minute read
- Blogs
Noncompete Bans Spread to New York and Beyond – Employment Law This Week Video
3 minute read - BlogsMinneapolis Federal Reserve Study Undermines Assumptions About Noncompetes Harming Employees on the Eve of Minnesota’s ...7 minute read
- BlogsNoncompete Ban Passes State Assembly; Heads to New York Governor for Possible Signature1 minute read
- BlogsWhy Is Virtually Nobody Talking Seriously About New York’s Potential Noncompete Ban?9 minute read
- BlogsMaine and Iowa Enact Job-Specific Limitations on Noncompetes2 minute read
- BlogsNew York State Senate Passes Bill to Ban Noncompete Agreements4 minute read
- BlogsNLRB Finds Its First Noncompete Target—and Its Charges Go Well Beyond an “Overbroad” Noncompete10 minute read
- PublicationsA 20-Year Consent Order Prohibiting the Use of Non-Compete Agreements2 minute read
- BlogsA 20-Year Consent Order Prohibiting the Use of Non-Compete Agreements - Antitrust Byte2 minute read
- Firm Announcements
Epstein Becker Green Earns National Recognition and High Rankings in the 2023 Edition of Legal 500
3 minute read - Media CoverageHeath Edwards Featured in “People on the Move”1 minute read
- Media Coverage
Peter Steinmeyer Featured in Practical Law Advisory Board Member Q&A
4 minute read - BlogsSenators Release Report from Government Watchdog on the Prevalence and Economic Effects of Noncompete Agreements Amid ...5 minute read
- BlogsNLRB General Counsel Issues Memo Targeting Noncompete Agreements for Nonmanagerial and Nonsupervisory Employees ...6 minute read
- Blogs10,000 Lakes and . . . No Noncompetes? Minnesota Passes Law Banning Non-Competes Effective July 1, 20236 minute read