About Seyfarth Shaw
The attorneys of the Trade Secrets, Computer Fraud, & Non-Competes practice group of Seyfarth Shaw LLP protect and defend clients against those who improperly handle proprietary information, violate non-compete agreements, improperly solicit customers or remove electronic data from businesses, and raid employees. Although we counsel our clients to avoid these situations, should trouble arise, we aggressively appear in court for injunction proceedings with an experienced team of trial attorneys and e-discovery practitioners.
Erika Birg is a partner in the Atlanta office of Seyfarth Shaw LLP. She assists clients with protecting their business interests in complex, commercial litigation cases involving fraud, federal and state RICO claims, defamation, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and duty of loyalty, as well as trade secret misappropriation and intellectual property claims. Ms. Birg also has been integrally involved in complex internal investigations and State of Georgia bid protests. Ms. Birg’s clients primarily include medium-sized and large public and private, national and multinational companies engaged in a variety of industries, including technology, insurance, real estate, and financial services.
Zachary Berk is an associate in the Litigation Department of Seyfarth Shaw LLP. He is a member of the Commercial Litigation Practice Group in the firm’s Boston office.
David Countiss is a partner in the Houston office of Seyfarth Shaw LLP. From September 2000 to September 2001, Mr. Countiss served as the briefing attorney for Justice Murry B. Cohen of the Court of Appeals, First District of Texas. Since that time, Mr. Countiss has focused his practice in the area of general business litigation, with a particular emphasis in trade secret, noncompete, and fiduciary duty litigation. Due to the nature of his practice, Mr. Countiss spends significant time handling issues related to injunctive relief, including temporary restraining orders, temporary/preliminary injunctions, and permanent injunctions.
Michael Elkon is an associate in the Atlanta office of Seyfarth Shaw LLP and is a member of the firm’s Litigation and Labor & Employment Departments. His primary focus is on commercial litigation. He has significant expertise in assisting clients in securing and protecting their valuable proprietary information, including investigation of potential theft or misuse of client trade secrets and confidential information.
Paul Freehling is a partner with the Chicago office of Seyfarth Shaw LLP. With more than 40 years of professional experience, Mr. Freehling has tried cases in both state and federal courts and before arbitration tribunals, and he has argued before three U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal as well as the Illinois Appellate Court. In addition to his practice in a wide variety of complex litigated matters, Mr. Freehling has significant experience in alternative dispute resolution both as a neutral and as an advocate. He has been appointed to the Roster of Distinguished Neutrals by the CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution, the premier organization for alternative methods of dispute resolution. Mr. Freehling represents clients in a wide variety of industries, including consumer goods, consumer finance, packaging and materials handling, not-for-profit corporations, and government contracting.
Scott Humphrey is a partner in Seyfarth Shaw LLP's Trade Secrets, Restrictive Covenants and Corporate Espionage Group. He serves on the Group's National Steering Committee and has successfully prosecuted and defended trade secrets and restrictive covenant cases throughout the United States. In doing so, Scott has successfully obtained and defeated temporary restraining orders, preliminary injunctions and permanent injunctions involving trade secret and restrictive covenant matters for clients in the technology, securities and financial services, transportation, electronics, software, insurance, healthcare, consumer products, and manufacturing industries. Scott has also written and reviewed restrictive covenant agreements for both Fortune 100 and small privately held corporations.
Jason Jarvis, of Seyfarth Shaw LLP, is an associate in the litigation department of the firm’s Boston office. He has extensive experience as an appellate litigator, and has briefed cases before most of the U.S. Courts of Appeals and argued before the Ninth Circuit, in addition to responsibility for substantial briefing before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Kurt Kappes has been a partner in the firm since 1997, and has extensive trial and pretrial experience in a variety of commercial litigation matters including restrictive covenants, trade secrets and unfair competition litigation. His experience includes jury trials, bench trials, single and panel arbitrations, administrative hearings, as well as writ proceedings. Mr. Kappes has argued cases before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the California Supreme Court, and the Third District Court of Appeals. Mr. Kappes has also audited clients' vulnerability to trade secret theft and misappropriation, and counseled them on best practices in this area.
Sara LeClerc is an associate in the Atlanta office of Seyfarth Shaw LLP. In law school, Ms. LeClerc participated in the University of Virginia School of Law Prosecution Clinic, serving as a student prosecutor in the Greene County District Court and Greene County Circuit Court.
James McNairy is a senior associate in the Sacramento office of Seyfarth Shaw LLP. He is a member of the Litigation department and his practice focuses on commercial, trade secret, and employment litigation. Mr. McNairy’s commercial litigation practice focuses on complex matters involving breach of contract; insurance bad faith; franchise, dealer and distribution disputes; unfair competition; business torts; false advertising; discriminatory pricing; and anti-trust. Mr. McNairy prosecutes and defends trade secret misappropriation claims, including obtaining associated expedited discovery and relief. Mr. McNairy’s employment litigation practice focuses on restrictions on competition and freedom of employment (non-compete and non-solicitation agreements), ERISA, discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, and wage and hour class actions brought under state and federal law.
Dawn Mertineit is an associate in the Boston office of Seyfarth Shaw LLP. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Mertineit served as the Managing Editor of the Boston University School of Law’s Journal of Science and Technology Law. She also participated in the Boston University School of Law Criminal Clinic, serving as a student prosecutor in Quincy District Court. Ms. Mertineit is also fluent in French.
Robert Milligan is a partner in Seyfarth Shaw LLP’s Los Angeles office in the Commercial Litigation and Labor and Employment Departments. His practice encompasses a wide variety of commercial litigation and employment matters, including general business disputes, unfair competition, trade secret misappropriation and other intellectual property theft, real estate litigation, insurance bad faith, invasion of privacy, products liability, wrongful termination, discrimination and harassment claims, wage and hour disputes, ADA and OSHA compliance, whistleblower cases, bankruptcy and other business torts. Mr. Milligan has represented clients in state and federal courts in complex commercial litigation and employment litigation. His experience includes trials, binding arbitrations and administrative hearings, mediations, as well as appellate proceedings.
Dana Orr is an associate in the Chicago office of Seyfarth Shaw LLP. Her practice focuses on litigation involving trade secrets, restrictive covenants, and theft of proprietary business information in both state and federal courts. Ms. Orr’s practice also includes litigation of franchise and dealer disputes and complex commercial business disputes. Ms. Orr’s pro bono practice includes representation of indigent criminal defendants in state court and representation of criminal defendants appealing federal convictions in the Seventh Circuit.
Brian Roche is an associate in the Chicago Office of Seyfarth Shaw LLP. Mr. Roche is an experienced trial attorney having tried over 70 cases to verdict. Prior to joining Seyfarth Shaw, Mr. Roche worked as an Assistant State’s Attorney in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office where he spent time in the Narcotics Prosecutions Division and the Appeals Division. Mr. Roche gained experience writing appellate briefs and argued before the Appellate Court of the State of Illinois, First District.
Eddy Salcedo is an experienced first-chair trial lawyer and is currently in the New York office of Seyfarth Shaw LLP. He has successfully represented a wide range of clients in trade secret, enforcement of non-competition agreements, partnership disputes, and trademark infringement litigations. He has also served as trial counsel for parties in construction and real estate development disputes, contract disputes, and general commercial and civil litigation. His experience includes state and federal bench and jury trials, appeals and arbitrations. He has appeared as counsel of record in the Appellate Division and the Court of Appeals of New York (New York's highest state court), and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Mr. Salcedo is a native Spanish speaker.
Janet Siegel is a litigation associate in the Chicago office of Seyfarth Shaw LLP. She has experience in all phases of litigation and has represented clients at oral arguments, hearings, and trials. She previously served as an Assistant Corporation Counsel in the New York City Law Department, where she received the Rookie of the Year award for her accomplishments in her first year of service. Ms. Siegel also completed a staff law clerkship with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Carolyn Sieve is a senior associate in the Los Angeles office of Seyfarth Shaw LLP. She represents both plaintiffs and defendants in federal and state courts, in a wide range of commercial disputes, including contract disputes, business torts, unfair business practices and trade secret disputes. Ms. Sieve also has significant experience litigating consumer class actions, wage/hour class actions and disability discrimination cases.
Mr. Weibust is an associate in the Litigation Department of Seyfarth Shaw LLP, and is a member of its Securities and Financial Litigation Practice Group. His practice focuses on complex commercial litigation, including the representation of corporations and their officers and directors in securities, business, and employment-related litigation. He also represents companies in non-compete and trade secrets cases. Mr. Weibust has experience from the early stages of litigation through the appeals process.
Michael Wexler is a partner in Seyfarth Shaw LLP’s Chicago office and National Chair of the Firm’s Corporate Espionage, Trade Secrets and Unfair Competition Group. His practice focuses on trial work and counseling in the areas of trade secrets and restrictive covenants, corporate espionage, unfair competition, complex commercial disputes, intellectual property infringement and white collar criminal defense in both federal and state courts. A former state prosecutor, Mr. Wexler’s extensive investigatory experience and considerable jury trial practice enables him to advise clients with regard to potential disputes and represent clients through and including a determination of their rights at trial.