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NJL People: Katie M. Connolly

Katie M. Connolly

Attorney

Katie represents publicly traded and Fortune 500 companies across the nation in post-employment covenants and trade secret litigation. She also serves as national counsel in an advisory capacity accounting for each state’s unique requirements when auditing post-employment covenants and maintaining her clients’ compliance with each state’s non-compete laws. While she has settled matters in the early stages of a case, Katie has successfully litigated cases in both state and federal courts throughout the country.

In addition to her covenant and trade secret work, Katie routinely advises and litigates a full-range of employment disputes. She has obtained dismissal and trial victories in numerous cases involving discrimination, retaliation, and whistleblower claims. Katie also conducts impartial and neutral investigations involving the most sensitive and complex internal employee complaints.

Key Practice Experience

Key Industry Experience

  • Manufacturing
  • Financial services
  • Retail
  • Insurance
  • Information technology companies

Representative Matters

  • Avantax v. Walloch (N.D. Tex.) – Defeated motion for TRO against financial advisor to enforce non-compete contained in stock purchase agreement; subsequent motion for preliminary injunction withdrawn after expedited discovery and briefing.
  • Mitchell v. Target (Minn. Ct. App.) – Obtained affirmance of summary judgment applying federal honest belief doctrine to reprisal claim under Minnesota Human Rights Act.
  • Medtronic v. Gallimore (Minn. Dist. Ct.) – Defeated motion for temporary restraining order, with court finding that Medtronic completely failed to show even a single factor supporting injunctive relief.
  • Financial advisory firm v. Respondents (AAA Arbitration) – After three-day arbitration, obtained complete victory for financial advisors on multi-million dollar non-compete, non-solicit, non-disclosure, and trade secret misappropriation claims.
  • BTM Global Consulting v. Centium Consulting (Minn. Dist. Ct.) – Obtained summary judgment on misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of non-compete, breach of confidentiality, and related tortious interference claims in dispute between NetSuite implementation companies
  • MRI v. AW et al. (D. Minn.) – Obtained summary judgment against plaintiff’s breach of contract, unjust enrichment, duty of loyalty, malicious injury, and deceptive trade practices claims, and defeated plaintiff’s summary judgment motion on plaintiff’s conversion, civil theft, fraudulent inducement, tortious interference, and business defamation claims, after convincing court to reconsider prior summary judgment order.
  • Oni v. Target – Won summary judgment on Drug and Alcohol Testing in the Workplace Act (DATWA) claim; decision affirmed on appeal to the Minnesota Court of Appeals
  • Bivens v. Target – Won summary judgment on race discrimination and retaliation claim
  • Cambria Company LLC v. Mohawk Industries, Inc., Dal-Tile Tennessee, LLC and Schumann (D. Minn.) – Successfully opposed motion for preliminary injunction alleging inevitable disclosure of trade secrets and breach of contractual confidentiality provision.
  • Prime Therapeutics LLC v. Maxor National Pharmacy Services, LLC (D. Minn.) – Defeated injunction motion seeking to prevent high-level executive from becoming employed by competitor based on implementation of phased job duties negating alleged inevitable disclosure of trade secrets
  • Nutrablend, LLC v. Consumers Supply Group (W.D. Mo.) – Obtained consent injunction for full relief demanded, including termination of employee who misappropriated trade secrets
  • PCM v. BIT Direct, Inc. et al. (S.D. Ohio) – Obtained consent injunction for full relief demanded, including termination of employee who violated non-compete agreement
  • PCM Sales, Inc. v. Blake Reed (N.D. Ill.) – Won summary judgment as plaintiff in breach of non-compete case, resulting in extension of non-compete for full period of breach
  • Loftness Specialized Farm Equipment v. Twiestmeyer & Assocs. et al. (D. Minn.) – Won federal jury trial involving alleged $6 million breach of non-disclosure agreement following seven years of litigation and two appeals
  • TelCom Construction Inc. v. Michael Simon and MP Nexlevel, LLC (Minn. Dist. Ct.) – After replacing prior counsel, obtained vacatur of previously entered temporary injunction and obtained summary judgment on non-compete and tortious interference claims.
  • Wesco Distribution, Inc. v. Vittorio: Won a TRO in Minnesota federal district court in favor of Wesco Distribution, Inc. in a non-compete matter.
  • 3M v. Robrecht:  Won a TRO and partial preliminary injunction in Wisconsin state court in a trade secret dispute.
  • BFI Waste Systems of North America, Inc. v. Freeway Transfer, Inc.:  Won a jury verdict in Minnesota federal district court in favor of BFI Waste Systems of North America in a contract dispute.
  • Aramark Uniform & Career Apparel, LLC v. Simmons:  Won a TRO enforcing a non-compete agreement in Minnesota state court.
  • Thomas v. UnitedHealth Group, LLC: Won summary judgment in claim by former employee alleging race discrimination and retaliation under Title VII and the Minnesota Human Rights Act.
  • Hanson v. Mental Health Resources: Won summary judgment in claim by former employee alleging FMLA interference and retaliation, as well as violation of the Minnesota Parenting Leave Act, and the Minnesota Human Rights Act.

Recognitions and Honors

  • Selected to Rising Stars list (2008-2019) and Minnesota Super Lawyers (2024)
  • Phi Beta Kappa, Indiana University

Publications and Presentations

  • “Noncompetes and Nonsolicits – Real-World Strategies for Employer Counsel Amid Legal Uncertainty,” Minnesota CLE, 2025 Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, May 19-20, 2025
  • “Bridging Generational Divides: Navigating Pronouns, Dress Codes, Bathrooms, and Beyond,” NAMWOLF Annual Meeting, September 16, 2024
  • “Addressing the Changing Landscape of Non-Compete Agreements,” Hiring – How to Select and Assess Applicants Legally and Effectively, Minnesota CLE, August 13, 2024
  • The Legal Fall-Out From Minnesota’s Non-Compete Ban,” Minnesota CLE, March 20, 2024
  • “Hiring & Firing: Restrictive Covenants in Employment Contracts,” Minnesota CLE, December 20, 2023
  • “Applying Damages and Remedies Analysis to Different Types of Disputes,” Minnesota CLE, December 19, 2023
  • “The Expansion of Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST),” Minnesota Beverage Association, December 13, 2023
  • “Navigating the Maze: Recent Trends and Strategies in Enforcing Restrictive Covenants Across State Lines,” CLE Webinar, ALFA International, December 13, 2023
  • “No-Poach, Non-Solicit, and Non-Compete Agreements – How to Vet Applicants for Existing Agreements, Weigh Risks and Benefits of Proceeding with Job Offers, and Handle Onboarding,” Minnesota CLE, Hiring Employees, January 25, 2023
  • “The Evolving State of Restrictive Covenants,” Minnesota CLE, Drafting, Negotiating, and Enforcing Non-Competes and Other Restrictive Covenants, September 20, 2022
  • “Complex Restrictive Covenant Topics for the Advanced Practitioner,” Minnesota CLE, Drafting, Negotiating, and Enforcing Non-Competes and Other Restrictive Covenants, September 20, 2022
  • “Legal Ethics and the New Sysdyne Defense in Restrictive Covenant Litigation – How the New Employer’s ‘Get-Out-of-Jail-Free Card’ Can Land Lawyers in Hot Water,” Minnesota CLE, 2021 Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, May 24, 2021
  • “Enforceable Non-Competes Here and Afar – Concrete Guidance in Light of New Laws,” Minnesota CLE, 2021 Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, September 15, 2020
  • “How to Create Enforceable and Effective Restrictive Covenants,” Minnesota CLE, October 7, 2019
  • “Complex Restrictive Covenant Topics for the Advanced Practitioner,” Minnesota CLE, 2019 Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, May 20, 2019
  • “Protecting the Home Field:  Creating and Enforcing Restrictive Covenants – Sophisticated Strategies for Multi-State Employers,” ALFA International L&E and Professional Liability Practice Groups, June 14, 2018
  • “Creating and Enforcing Restrictive Covenants – A Deep Dive for Multi-State Employers,” Minnesota CLE, 2018 Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, May 21, 2018
  • “Ethics and Conflicts Issues in Restrictive Covenant Litigation,” Minnesota CLE, Trade Secrets and Restrictive Covenants: Protecting Assets and Litigating Disputes Seminar, February 20, 2018
  • “The Tightrope of Behavioral Health, ADA, and FMLA: Managing the Risk,” 2016 DMEC FMLA/ADA Employer Compliance Conference, April 26, 2016
  • “The Injured Worker: Navigating the Post-Injury Working Relationship,” 2014 Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, May 20, 2014

Community Engagement

  • Volunteer Lawyers Network
  • The Advocates for Human Rights

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