Non-Competes and Trade Secrets

National Non-Compete and Trade Secret Defense

Our team of attorneys at Nilan Johnson Lewis has deep expertise assisting employers in restrictive covenant and trade secret matters. We routinely defend hiring employers and the departed employee, and prosecute claims on behalf of former employers. From the hiring employer perspective, we help clients quickly craft strategies to avoid litigation, or if litigation is unavoidable, prepare the best defenses. For our former employer clients, we effectively communicate with departed employees and their new employers to enforce restrictions, enabling our clients to prevent unfair competition and respond quickly and forcefully when it occurs.

• We litigate all sides. We represent the former employer, the new employer, and the employee in restrictive covenant and trade secret disputes, and can leverage the best case law for any angle and argument.
• We know all the laws. We have litigated all over the country, and we have designed multi-state restrictive covenant programs for national employers. So we know the nuances of laws in all states and can develop strategies to maximize advantages under whatever law applies to a dispute.
• We are experts in computer forensics. Employees leave electronic fingerprints from their wrongdoing. As a result, restrictive covenant and trade secret cases routinely rely on highly technical computer forensic investigations. We quickly develop forensics protocols to find the electronic evidence necessary to bring a strong injunction motion.
• We leverage all available claims. Breach of contract, misappropriation, tortious interference, statutory computer violations, anti-SLAPP, common law claims…we know them all, what claims to bring, and, on the defense side, how to defeat them.
• We harness facts in specific industries to make the best arguments. Our legal expertise extends into all sorts of industries, from financial to food, home construction to health care, transportation to technology, manufacturing to medical devices, and others.
• We create national restrictive covenant programs that comply with all state laws. We help multi-state employers—even those in difficult states like California—create national restrictive covenant programs with contracts enforceable wherever the client does business.
• Our diverse team brings diverse perspectives. We emphasize diversity as a firm Core Value. Over 50% of the firm’s attorneys are women, and 80% of associates on our team are diverse. We believe our attorney diversity enhances the representation we bring to our diverse clients.