Prosecution of claims of theft of trade secrets and unfair competition on behalf of list brokerage against former key salesman who suddenly resigned and stole information; obtained temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against former employee and his new employer
I have handled many hundreds of business-to-business disputes as a litigation attorney in court, arbitration, and mediation, as well as a neutral arbitrator and neutral mediator. Appropriate dispute resolution is a common theme for me – what is the best way to resolve a particular business dispute? Much of the answer to that question depends on the forum in which the parties and their counsel find themselves (e.g., informal negotiation; mediation; arbitration; or formal court litigation), and much of the reason for where they find themselves turns on the degree of forethought, strategy, planning, and experience-based knowledge applied to the situation. More often than not, the “default” option of court litigation is not best for anyone (except perhaps the litigation attorneys).
Trade Secrets
Unfair Competition
Defense of principals of start-up tech development company after they left former employer which sued them for alleged theft of trade secrets and unfair competition
Defense of popular restaurant chain's corporate headquarters in several cases of alleged wrongful termination of senior corporate managerial employees; won all cases at trial level and successfully obtained affirmances on appeal
Employment Contract
Review and negotiation of employment contracts for employees in diverse areas including financial services, marketing, executive management, medical equipment sales, accounting, not-for-profit, entertainment, university, physicians, and independent contractor arrangements
Non-compete Agreement
A feeling that a key employee with access to your company's confidential trade secret information is considering whether to go into competition with you, in breach of a non-compete clause (restrictive covenant);
Business disputes (whether predicated upon claims of breach of contract between different companies or a dispute within a partnership, LLC, or corporations among its owners) should not be handled absent expert assistance. Not only should you not seek to deal with a brewing dispute by yourself, you also should be wary of hiring those whose legal practice focuses in other arenas (e.g., tax; corporate transactional work; real estate; general practice; personal injury; and the like) to handle the legal aspects of your business dispute. I don't presume to be able to practice in their areas; you should be cautious about having them venture into these specialized waters. In each instance, you likely are better off with someone truly conversant in the particular area of practice. By way of analogy: You wouldn't go to your psychiatrist for orthopedic surgery.
In the past year, 78% of owners polled by NFIB say they have sought advice or other assistance from an attorney over a three-year period. In consultations with lawyers, the topic most often cited was contracts, 20.6%, debt collection, 15.5%; real estate, 14%; liability, 10.8%; and employment, 8.8%.