Contact: Rick Bergstrom or Dan Westman
The most valuable assets of a company typically include its intellectual property (“IP”) and confidential information, and
the employees entrusted with this information. Both IP and employees can be highly mobile. Morrison & Foerster regularly advises
clients on how to protect against the theft of their IP from both external and internal threats by implementing trade secret
protection and information security programs. Often, trade secret protection includes employee agreements and/or proprietary
information agreements, which contain restrictive covenants (e.g., non-competition, non-solicitation and non-disclosure agreements). In today’s global economy, we assist clients in tailoring
the appropriate restrictive covenants under laws which vary widely by state and international jurisdictions. With the proliferation
of technology in the workplace, we also train clients to design and implement effective information security programs and
policies to prevent intentional or inadvertent loss of data.
When emergencies arise, Morrison & Foerster’s team of trade secret litigators have the experience to handle any trade secret
matter. Among the firm’s expert trade secret lawyers is James Pooley, who is the author of the highly regarded treatise Trade Secrets (Law Journal Press). The firm frequently litigates cases involving misappropriation of trade secrets, the Computer Fraud
& Abuse Act, restrictive covenants, employee raiding, customer raiding, and departures of key employees. Our litigators are
often in court seeking or defending against emergency relief including temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions,
as well as trying cases to juries, judges, and arbitrators. The Morrison & Foerster team has litigated some of the most significant
trade secret cases in California and the U.S.
