Daniel P. Westman is a litigation partner at Morrison & Foerster and Co-Chair of the Employment and Labor Group. Mr. Westman has represented management in employment, trade secret, employee mobility, and computer fraud litigation and counseling matters since 1982, having practiced in the San Francisco Bay Area until 1999, and in the Mid-Atlantic from 1999 to the present. Mr. Westman has successfully tried numerous preliminary injunction matters on behalf of companies and executives in non-competition, trade secret and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act cases. Mr. Westman also counsels executive management regarding corporate Codes of Conduct required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (2006-2008) as a leader in the field of Labor and Employment Law and in Law & Politics Virginia Super Lawyers (2006-2008) for Employment and Labor Law.

Mr. Westman is the lead author of the book, Whistleblowing: The Law of Retaliatory Discharge, Second Edition (Washington, D.C.: BNA Books, 2004 & Supp. 2007), which focuses on the whistleblower provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. He has testified before Congressional subcommittees on the subject of proposed federal whistleblower legislation and has been an invited speaker at many legal and industry conferences. He serves as a member of the Council of the Labor Relations and Employment Law Section of the Virginia Bar Association, and as Management Co-Chair of the Sarbanes-Oxley subcommittee of the American Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section, Fair Labor Standards Legislation Committee.

Mr. Westman obtained his A.B. in History, with distinction, from Stanford University in 1978. He obtained his law degree from the University of Chicago Law School in 1981, and served as a law clerk to the Hon. Barbara B. Crabb, U.S. District Judge, Western District of Wisconsin, from 1981-82. Mr. Westman is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the Fourth, Fifth and Ninth Circuits, numerous federal district courts, and before the highest courts of Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, and California.

Representative Publications

• “Challenges to Corporate Culture Presented By Anonymous Whistleblowing,” The Corporate Counselor, November 2007
• “SOX Whistleblowing Rule Triggers a Continental Divide,” Corporate Compliance and Regulatory Newsletter, July 2006
• Written testimony before U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform, June 2006, regarding U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Garcetti v. Ceballos
• “The Significance of the Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Provisions,” The Labor Lawyer, Fall 2005 issue
• “Limitations Imposed By the Attorney-Client Privilege on In-House and Outside Counsel as ‘Whistleblowers’,” Employee Relations Law Journal, Autumn 2005 (co-author with Christine N. Kearns)
• “Compliance in the Era of ‘Undersight,’” The Corporate Compliance & Regulatory Newsletter, July 2005.
• “Undersight: The New Overlap Between Securities Law and Employment Litigation,” Securities Litigation Report, April 2005.
• “The New Concept of ‘Undersight’ in Securities Regulation,” The Wall Street Lawyer, April 2005.
• Whistleblowing: The Law of Retaliatory Discharge, Second Edition (Washington, D.C.: BNA Books, 2004 & Supp. 2007), principal author.
• “Whistleblowers May Cause Trouble, So Does Firing Them,” Washington Business Journal, June 6, 2003.
• The Entrepreneurs Guide to Business Law (West 1998), editor, Chapter 13, “Human Resources.”  
• “Implied Limitation on Employers’ Exercise of Discretion in At-Will Setting,” Practicing Law Institute, January 1997.
• Testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Education and Labor, Subcommittee on Labor-Management Relations, August 5, 1992, regarding H.R.  1664 (proposed federal whistleblower legislation).
• Whistleblowing: The Law of Retaliatory Discharge (Washington, D.C.: BNA Books, 1991).

Representative Public Speaking Engagements

• Presenter, “21st Century Workplace,” Association of Corporate Counsel, Washington Metropolitan Chapter, October 2007
• Presenter, “Key Impacts of Employment Law on Preparation for an Avian Flu Pandemic,” Lorman Education Services, April 2007
• Moderator, “Supreme Court and Other Developments Affecting Litigation of Retaliation and Whistleblower Claims,” American Bar Association, Labor & Employment Law Section, March 2007
• Presenter, Virginia Bar Association, “Privacy, Identity Theft, and Personalized Data Protection in Employment Litigation,” October 2006
• Presenter, District of Columbia Bar Association, “Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Claims,” April 2006
• Presenter, Virginia Bar Association, “Sarbanes-Oxley After the Storm: Blue Skies or Stormy Seas Ahead?” September 2005.
• Presenter, Law Seminars, Inc., “Discovery and Experts in Trade Secret Litigation,” December 10, 2004.
• Presenter, Virginia Bar Association, “What Every Employer Needs to Know About Protecting Trade Secrets,” September 30, 2004.
• Presenter, Information Technology Association of America, “Preventing Trade Secret Theft in the Digital Age,” February 13, 2004.
• Presenter, Virginia Bar Association, “New Criminal and Civil Penalties for Retaliation Against Whistleblowers,” January 18, 2003.
• Presenter, BIOTECH 2002, “Protecting Your Intellectual Property in the Age of Employee Mobility,” October 1, 2002.
• Presenter, Virginia Bar Association, “Bounty Hunters and Whistleblowers Under the Fraud Against Taxpayers Act,” September 28, 2002.

Representative Trials and Appeals

deCODE genetics Inc. v. Hákonarson, et al.
(U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania)
Obtained temporary restraining order against four former employees of deCODE who allegedly misappropriated trade secrets, breached non-competition agreements, and violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

ASCI v. ManTech Security Technology, Inc., et al.
(U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio)
Defeated motion for preliminary injunction brought by former employer against three former employees, and their new employer, for alleged breach of non-competition agreements and misappropriation of trade secrets.

Capponi v. Mitel Networks, Inc.
(Fairfax County Circuit Court, Virginia)
Obtained ruling at trial in favor of employer in lawsuit brought by former employee for allegedly unpaid commissions.

Schwam v. XO Communications, Inc.
(U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia)
Obtained summary judgment in favor of employer with respect to claims for allegedly unpaid commissions, and affirmance on appeal by Fourth Circuit.

Trinity Information Management Systems, Inc. v. Virtue Technologies, Inc.
(Fairfax County Circuit Court, Virginia)
Obtained temporary injunction in favor of employer against two former employees alleged to have breached their fiduciary duties, misappropriated trade secrets and violated Virginia’s civil conspiracy statute.

SER Solutions, Inc. v. Ball
(Loudoun County Circuit Court, Virginia)
Defeated motion for preliminary injunction brought by former employer against former employee alleged to have misappropriated trade secrets and violated non-competition agreement.

ObjectVideo v. McKeever
(Fairfax County Circuit Court, Virginia)
Obtained temporary injunction in favor of employer against two former employees alleged to have breached non-competition agreements, misappropriated trade secrets and violated Virginia’s civil conspiracy statute.

INPUT v. Mattick
(Fairfax County Circuit Court, Virginia)
Obtained temporary injunction in favor of employer against former employee alleged to have misappropriated trade secrets.

Khan v. Beatty
(Arlington County Human Rights Commission, Virginia)
Obtained ruling in favor of defendant in public hearing in case alleging “9/11 backlash” discrimination against individual of Pakistani national origin and Muslim religion.

Minor v. XO Communications, Inc.
(U.S. District Court, District of Maryland)
Plaintiff voluntarily dismissed lawsuit with prejudice after employer filed motion for summary judgment.

Kandimalla v. Future Integrated Systems, Inc.
(Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Service)
Obtained arbitration ruling in favor of employer in dispute over alleged ownership in graphics chip design company.

Eckford v. Lockheed Technical Operations Company (“Eckford II”)
(U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, San Jose)
Obtained summary judgment in favor of employer in case in which plaintiff organized placard-carrying demonstration outside Lockheed’s Sunnyvale facility, and wore t-shirt to work stating “Lockheed Unfair to Minorities.”  Plaintiff alleged race discrimination and harassment, and retaliation for complaining about discrimination and harassment.

Black v. Lockheed Missiles & Space Company
(California Superior Court, Santa Clara County)
Obtained summary judgment in favor of employer in case in which plaintiff attended Lockheed’s annual shareholder meeting and complained at open microphone about alleged race discrimination.  Plaintiff alleged race discrimination and harassment, and retaliation for complaining about discrimination and harassment.

Joyce v. Lockheed Missiles & Space Company
(California Superior Court, Santa Clara County)
Defense jury verdict in action for sexual harassment, gender discrimination, race discrimination, and retaliation for complaining about sexual harassment.

Heard v. Lockheed Missiles & Space Company
(California Superior Court, Santa Clara County)
Defense jury verdict in action for race discrimination and retaliation for complaining about discrimination.

Eckford v. Lockheed Technical Operations Company (“Eckford I”)
(California Superior Court, Santa Clara County)
Judgment of nonsuit in favor of defense after empanelment of jury in action for race discrimination, harassment, and retaliation for complaining about discrimination and harassment.  Obtained award of attorney’s fees of $80,000 in favor of employer.

Schall v. Lockheed Missiles & Space Company
37 Cal.App.4th 1485 (1995)
Affirmance on appeal of defense judgment based on motion in limine to prevent the plaintiff from testifying because she had been hypnotized regarding the subject matter of the lawsuit, which alleged sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and retaliation for complaining about sexual harassment.

Okoli v. Lockheed Technical Operations Company
36 Cal.App.4th 1607 (1995)
Reversal of jury verdict for plaintiff, with instructions to enter judgment for employer, in action alleging race discrimination, harassment, and retaliation for discrimination and harassment.

Martin v. Lockheed Missiles & Space Company
29 Cal.App.4th 1718 (1994)
Summary judgment granted in favor of employer in action alleging gender and age discrimination.

Prytz v. Thelen, Marrin, Johnson & Bridges
(California Superior Court, San Francisco County)
Defense jury verdict in action for wrongful termination, age discrimination, and retaliation for filing workers’ compensation claim.

Pezzino v. Bechtel Civil & Minerals, Inc.
(California Superior Court, San Francisco County)
Defense jury verdict in action for wrongful termination (in retaliation for complaining about aspects of construction of palace of Sultan of Brunei), age and national origin discrimination.  Plaintiff’s verdict of $87,000 on claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Cowan v. Bechtel Construction, Inc.
Wilson v. Bechtel Construction, Inc.
(U.S. Department of Labor)
Obtained rulings in favor of defendant in actions alleging wrongful termination for reporting alleged safety defects at nuclear energy plants.

Numerous other jury verdicts, dismissals, summary judgments, and other dispositive rulings in favor of clients in federal and state courts in Virginia, Maryland, and California, and before U.S. Department of Labor.