Trade Secret Litigation

Home / Services / Trade Secret Litigation
All services
Trade Secrets

Trade secret litigation that protects your confidential information under the Defend Trade Secrets Act and state law, with fast injunctive relief, departing-employee disputes, and defense against overreaching misappropriation claims.

Source code, algorithms, customer lists, formulas, and processes are often a company's most valuable secrets, and they walk out the door fast. We move quickly to stop misappropriation and to defend clients accused of it. Having built technical systems ourselves, we can show a court exactly what the secret is, how it was used, and why it qualifies for protection.

Defend Trade Secrets Act Claims

The Defend Trade Secrets Act gives you federal court access, nationwide reach, and, in the right case, an extraordinary ex parte seizure order to keep stolen information from spreading. We use those tools to halt ongoing misappropriation and pursue damages for harm already done, while pairing DTSA claims with state Uniform Trade Secrets Act counts so you keep every available avenue open.

Emergency Relief

Trade secret cases are won or lost in the first weeks. We are built to move fast on temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions, ex parte seizures when truly necessary, and expedited discovery to trace where information went. That early work also covers breach of NDA and confidentiality claims and computer fraud claims under the CFAA when an employee or competitor accessed systems they should not have.

Departing Employees and Competitors

Most of these disputes start when a key employee leaves for a rival and takes knowledge, files, or contacts along. We pursue claims involving stolen customer data, misappropriated technical material, and violated restrictive covenants. We also defend employees and their new employers against claims that are overbroad or that try to lock up general skills the law does not protect.

Damages and Outcomes

Recovery can include your actual losses, the defendant's unjust enrichment, a reasonable royalty, and exemplary damages where the misappropriation was willful. We work with damages experts early to build a number that holds up, or, on the defense side, to dismantle an inflated demand before it shapes the rest of the case.

Frequently asked questions

A trade secret is information that has economic value because it isn't generally known, and that you take reasonable steps to keep secret. That can mean formulas, manufacturing processes, customer lists, pricing, or business strategies. The "reasonable steps" part matters: if you didn't protect it, a court may decide it was never a trade secret at all.

The DTSA gives you a federal court option and a uniform national standard, while state laws, most based on the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, vary in their details. In practice most cases bring both federal and state claims to keep all options open. We pick the combination that gives you the best procedural footing.

Often, yes. Because ongoing misappropriation tends to cause irreparable harm, trade secret cases are good candidates for temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions. Courts can move quickly to freeze the situation while the case plays out, which is frequently the most important early win.

In rare, extraordinary cases, the DTSA lets a court order seizure of stolen trade secrets without giving the defendant advance notice. It's reserved for situations where tipping off the defendant would lead to the evidence being destroyed or leaked. Because it's so powerful, courts grant it narrowly and only with strong justification.

You need to establish three things: the information actually qualifies as a trade secret, it was acquired through improper means or a breach of duty, and it was used or disclosed without your permission. Each piece needs evidence, which is why documenting your secrecy measures and the defendant's conduct early is so valuable.

Maybe, depending on where you are. Some courts will issue an injunction when a departing employee will inevitably rely on your trade secrets in a new role, even without proof they've actually taken anything yet. But this doctrine is accepted in some states and rejected in others, so the jurisdiction is decisive.

Document products

Related document products

Order attorney-drafted documents related to this service.

Browse all products

Let's talk about your trade secret litigation needs.

Get in touch