Trade Secrets Litigation
Schiff Hardin's Trade Secrets and Restrictive Covenants Client Service Team possesses nationally recognized expertise in the substantive law that applies to trade secrets and non-compete agreements. Our attorneys have successfully litigated cases regarding trade secrets, non-compete covenants and confidentiality agreements for clients in a broad range of industries, including foods and beverages, insurance, air-to-ground telephony, writing instruments, medical devices, consumer packaged goods manufacturing, and market research.
For example, through our trial and appellate work, we have created and shaped the law of trade secrets, including development of the doctrine of "inevitable disclosure" of trade secrets. In PepsiCo, Inc. v. Redmond et al., 54 F. 3d. 1262 (7th Cir. 1995), our firm filed an action on behalf of PepsiCo, Inc. against a former employee and his new employer, seeking emergency and permanent injunctive relief. PepsiCo claimed that the former employee would "inevitably" use and disclose its trade secrets and confidential information in violation of the employee's confidentiality agreement and trade secret laws. Following a hearing on a temporary restraining order, intensive expedited discovery, and an extended trial of a preliminary injunction motion, the trial judge granted PepsiCo a preliminary injunction enjoining the employee's participation in a broad range of activities, including pricing, marketing, and distribution of beverages, as well as any use or disclosure of PepsiCo's trade secrets. The Seventh Circuit upheld the decision in a frequently cited ruling on the "inevitable disclosure" doctrine.
We can also bring to bear our expertise in the area of trade secrets, restrictive covenants, and information protection outside the courtroom. We help our clients implement effective non-compete, non-disclosure and anti-raiding agreements, and we assist our clients to address the confidentiality issues that frequently arise in the workplace. Familiarity with the "virtual office" is crucial to designing and implementing an effective program to protect trade secrets and other confidential information and to enforce restrictive covenants. Our expertise in that area, together with our knowledge of computer forensics and electronic discovery, assists our clients in protecting their valuable business information in the workplace and, when necessary, in the courts.
