Eric Tate serves as the co-chair of the firm's Employment and Labor Practice Group and co-chair of the firm's Diversity Strategy Committee. He represents companies in trade secrets, employee raiding and mobility, unfair competition, wage and hour, employment discrimination and whistleblower litigation, and in counseling matters. He has litigated various employee claims including, for example, discrimination and harassment, wrongful termination, and the interpretation of collective bargaining agreements in both state and federal courts. In particular, Mr. Tate has litigated issues involving trade secret misappropriation, employee and customer raiding, and unfair competition both within and outside of the United States.
Mr. Tate recently published "Protect Your Investments: Recent Developments In California Law Regarding Non Competition Agreements and Other Restrictive Covenants" in NVCA Today; "Microinequities: Can Bad Behavior Be Actionable?" in The National Law Journal; and "The When, Who and How of Workplace Investigations" in The Practical Litigator. He is a contributing editor for Trade Secrets (Law and Business) and serves on the Board of Review for leading BNA treatises Trade Secrets: A State-by-State Survey; Covenants Not to Compete; Employee Duty of Loyalty; and Tortious Interference in the Employment Context.
Mr. Tate is a member of the Asian American Bar Association, Bar Association of San Francisco, Charles Houston Bar Association, Santa Clara County Bar Association, and the Labor and Employment Law and Litigation sections of the California State Bar Association, and the American Bar Association (“ABA”). He serves as the co-chair of the ABA Annual Meeting Committee and co-chair of the Trade Secrets and Restrictive Covenants Subcommittee and is immediate past co-chair of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Subcommittee of the ABA’s Employment Rights and Responsibilities Committee. He also is a mediator for the Northern District of California’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Program.
Mr. Tate founded and is a former president of the board of directors of Hapa Issues Forum, Inc., a nonprofit community organization that addresses issues relating to persons of partial Asian descent. He served as the president of the board of directors of the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California. He is also a member of the INROADS Alumni Association.
Mr. Tate has been recognized by San Jose magazine as one of Silicon Valley's Top 300 lawyers, as a Super Lawyer by Northern California Super Lawyers magazine, and as one of the Daily Journal's "Top 20 Under 40." He has also been listed in Legal 500 US and Best Lawyers in America.
Representative Matters
- Defending national construction company in purported class action for failure to comply with California wage laws.
- Represented North American provider of IT solutions and services in series of lawsuits across the U.S. to combat alleged employee and customer raiding activities by competitor.
- Represented pharmaceutical industry company in trade secrets misappropriation lawsuit against former finance executive.
- Represented international video game maker in trade secrets misappropriation lawsuits against former executives and new competing business.
- Defended leading corporate social responsibility company in whistleblower and employment discrimination lawsuit filed by former finance executive.
- Represented international video game maker in trade secrets misappropriation lawsuit against competitor.
- Defended international technology company in class action regarding alleged failure to accurately pay wages to technicians.
- Defended national restaurant chain in class action regarding alleged failure to comply with California wage laws for 10,000 employees.
- Defended international engineering and construction company in class action regarding alleged failure to comply with California overtime laws.
- Defended national mortgage company in trade secrets misappropriation and employee and customer raiding lawsuit filed by competitor.
- Defended North American home furnishings retail chain in trade secrets misappropriation and employee raiding lawsuit filed by competitor.
- Defended landscaping company in class action regarding alleged failure to comply with California meal and rest period laws.
- Represented national mortgage company in trade secrets misappropriation and employee and customer raiding lawsuit filed against competitor.
- Defended individual directors of defunct technology company in lawsuit by former employees for unpaid wages.
- Defended international laser and fiber optics company in lawsuit alleging fraud regarding stock options.
- Defended international video game maker in whistleblower and employment discrimination lawsuit filed by former executive.