Wednesday, January 10, 2024
12:00 pm – 1:04 pm PT

Seyfarth’s co-chair of the Trade Secrets, Computer Fraud, and Non-Competes practice, Robert Milligan, will lead a panel of legal experts in dissecting the FTC’s recent crackdown on non-compete agreements. This California Lawyers Association webinar, scheduled for January 10, 2024, explores the implications of the FTC’s proposed rule, providing crucial

Continue Reading Robert Milligan to Headline California Lawyers Association Webinar on FTC’s Crackdown on Non-Competes

Seyfarth SynopsisEfforts to prohibit non-compete agreements in New York State are back to square one following Governor Hochul’s veto of an outright ban in late December 2023.

As we reported most recently here, New York was set to join a number of states that prohibit non-compete clauses in employment agreements. In June 2023, the Legislature passed a bill that would have declared an outright ban on such agreements, with no exceptions, but its formal “delivery” to the Governor was delayed due to well-publicized concerns that the bill was too draconian, including, among other concerns, that it applied to all workers regardless of income and did not permit non-competes as a term of the sale of a business. Continue Reading New York Non-Compete Ban is Off the Table—For Now

In 2023, Seyfarth’s Trade Secrets, Computer Fraud & Non-Compete practice group presented a series of dynamic and insightful CLE webinars, addressing pivotal challenges confronting businesses head-on. The breadth of our discussions encompassed a spectrum of critical topics:

  1. FTC Proposes Rule Banning Use of Non-Competes. Now What?
  2. 2022 Trade Secrets & Non-Competes Year in Review
  3. Commercial Litigation Outlook: Insights and Predictions for Litigation Trends in 2023
  4. NLRB and Restrictive Covenants: Trends in Employment Confidentiality
  5. Managing Trade Secrets in a Remote Work Environment
  6. What Employers Need to Know Regarding Non-Compete Changes in 2023

To conclude our impactful 2023 webinar series, we’ve carefully compiled key takeaways from each session. If you missed any sessions, recordings are available on our blog or through the provided links. We’re excited to share that Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit is attainable by watching the webinar recordings. For CLE credit inquiries, please email cle@seyfarth.com after viewing the webinar.Continue Reading 2023 Trade Secrets Webinar Series Recap: Key Takeaways and Access to Recordings

Boston Beer Corporation (“Boston Beer”) recently filed suit seeking monetary and injunctive relief in Massachusetts state court, alleging a former employee and his new employer, the competing alcoholic beverage company Downeast Cider House LLC (“Downeast”), were using Boston Beer’s trade secrets to unfairly compete with it and divert business opportunities to Downeast.

Boston Beer is a brewer and marketer of

Continue Reading Rival Boston Cider Companies Enter Trade Secret Dispute

We are excited to present the latest edition of our renowned resource, the 50-State Non-Compete Desktop Reference, thoughtfully updated by our distinguished Trade Secrets, Computer Fraud, and Non-Competes practice group.

Key Features:

  • Comprehensive Updates: Covering key jurisdictions such as California, New York, and many more.
  • In-Depth Topics: Covers vital aspects such as penalty frameworks, wage thresholds, and notice requirements.
  • Expert Contributions: Draw from the knowledge of our Trade Secrets, Computer Fraud, and Non-Competes practice group.

Access: To access this invaluable resource, click here.

Feel free to reach out to your dedicated Seyfarth attorney for any assistance or questions regarding non-compete and trade secrets law.Continue Reading Seyfarth’s Updated 50-State Non-Compete Desktop Reference – Your Trusted Resource

Wednesday, November 29, 2023
1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Eastern
12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Central
11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Mountain
10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Pacific

REGISTER HERE

About the Program

You’re invited to our highly anticipated webinar, where Seyfarth Shaw LLP’s leading attorneys in non-compete law will skillfully guide you through the intricacies of non-compete agreements in the United States, focusing on the latest updates in 2023. This essential webinar will provide exclusive insights from our 2023-2024 edition of the 50-State Desktop Reference.Continue Reading Upcoming Webinar! What Employers Need to Know Regarding Non-Compete Changes in 2023

Seyfarth partner Dawn Mertineit will be attending and presenting at the Intellectual Property Owners Association Annual Conference in Boston from September 10-12. This event brings together Intellectual Property professionals across law firms, corporations, service providers, and academia and offers educational programs, committee meetings, and networking opportunities.

Dawn will be speaking on a panel titled “Trade Secrets Under Pressure from the

Continue Reading Seyfarth Partner Dawn Mertineit to Speak at 2023 IPO Annual Conference

At the beginning of the pandemic, concerns were raised that trade secret misappropriation might take a new form. Indeed, with large swaths of the workforce working from home, spouses, roommates, or others living in the same area had an increased opportunity to purloin confidential information that might not have been available to them previously.

But a recent case in Massachusetts

Continue Reading Secrets Exposed: Trade Secrets, Trust, and a Multi-Million Dollar Lesson

The D.C. Circuit recently held that a “Mutual Non-Disparagement” clause requiring an employer to “direct” its employees not to disparage a former employee could reasonably be interpreted as prohibiting the employer itself from making disparaging statements.

In Wright v. Eugene & Agnes E. Meyer Foundation, Dr. Terri Wright, a former employee of the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation (the “Foundation”), filed suit against the Foundation after discovering its CEO, Nicola Goren, had made disparaging statements about her.

The Foundation hired Wright in early February 2018 as its Vice President of Program and Community.  During Wright’s tenure, Goren criticized her “interpersonal skills” and identified “communication issues.” In October 2019, Goren fired Wright, citing the same concerns.  Wright believed these alleged issues were pretextual, but to attempt to avoid litigation, she entered into a Severance Agreement with the Foundation. The Severance Agreement contained a provision titled “Mutual Non-Disparagement” that read as follows:

You agree that you have not made, and will not make, any false, disparaging or derogatory statements to any person or entity, including any media outlet, industry group or financial institution, regarding the Foundation or any of the other Releasees, or about the Foundation’s business affairs and/or financial conditions; provided, however, that nothing herein prevents you from making truthful disclosures to any governmental entity or in any litigation or arbitration. Likewise, the Foundation will direct those officers, directors, and employees with direct knowledge of this revised letter agreement not to make any false, disparaging or derogatory statements to any person or entity regarding you; provided, however, that nothing herein prevents such individuals from making truthful disclosures to any governmental entity in litigation or arbitration.Continue Reading D.C. Circuit Holds Contractual Clause Directing Non-Disparagement Implies Employer Itself Cannot Disparage

On May 31, 2023, a Harris County Texas District Court jury found a telecom company acted in bad faith by filing a $23 million trade secret misappropriation lawsuit against a rival where the underlying technology was found to not actually be a trade secret.

Background & Analysis

In February 2019, Telecom firm Teligistics, Inc. (“Teligistics”) sued its rival Advanced Personal Computing, Inc. d/b/a Liquid Networx (“Liquid Networx”) and company executives Travis Wood and Robert Short, alleging they misappropriated trade secrets concerning its online platform for handling contracts named Telibid. Specifically, Teligistics alleged a former Liquid Networx employee obtained a copy of Teligistic’s internal Request for Proposal (“RFP”) in order to “tweak” Liquid Networx’s internal RFP, rather than spending time and resources developing their own RFP. Continue Reading Not All Documents Labeled Confidential Actually Are: Texas Jury Finds $23M Trade Secret Case Was Brought in Bad Faith