Trade Secret and Noncompete Litigation

Attorneys in the Trade Secret and Noncompete Litigation Practice at Montgomery McCracken counsel and represent employers and employees in disputes involving trade secrets, noncompete and nonsolicitation agreements, the employee duty of loyalty, and similar matters.

We counsel our clients in all aspects of this practice, including:

• preparing agreements and other documents that allow employers to protect valuable information and customer relationships;
• counseling employers on comprehensive steps, such as trade secret audits, toward the same goals;
• counseling employers concerning responses to raiding by competitors, including litigation, and modification of personnel policies and compensation practices;
• counseling employers on lawful and effective practices toward hiring the best workforce--including candidates from the competition; and
• counseling individuals planning job changes concerning effective techniques for maximizing value to the future employer, while avoiding litigation.

We also represent employers and employees in litigation concerning trade secrets, noncompete and nonsolicitation agreements, the employee duty of loyalty, and similar matters, in state and federal courts.

Examples of recent representations by members of the Montgomery McCracken Trade Secret and Noncompete Litigation Practice include:

• a client that provides assigned professionals to perform mission-critical services at its customers has a payment dispute with one of those customers. When negotiations over this payment dispute reach an impasse, the customer hires the assigned professionals directly, cutting out the MMWR client. MMWR obtains an injunction in state court barring the assigned professionals from performing any services for the customer, except as an employee of the MMWR client. The payment dispute and the full relationship between the MMWR client and its customer are soon resolved on terms favorable to the MMWR client;
• an out-of-state company buys a Pennsylvania corporation, and within a year of the completion of the sale, it learns that the selling shareholder has gone into competition, in violation of the noncompete provisions of the asset purchase agreement. MMWR institutes a lawsuit in federal court seeking repayment of the purchase price of the business and injunctive relief, and commences expedited discovery.  The matter is resolved within several weeks in a seven figure settlement;
• an out of state employer and employee are sued in federal court in Pennsylvania by the individual's former employer, seeking enforcement of a noncompete agreement. All injunctive relief is denied after MMWR convinces the federal judge that because of a wrinkle in Pennsylvania noncompete law, the agreement lacked adequate consideration;
• several employees planning to leave their employer and form their own business approach MMWR for advice on a lawful transition. After careful planning and development of factually and legally detailed defenses to any lawsuit, the employees resign. Although the employer has a history of litigation against former employees and threatens litigation in this case, MMWR is successful in convincing the former employer that any lawsuit will be resisted vigorously and effectively. The former employer elects not to pursue litigation.

For more information, please contact Daniel P. O'Meara, Chair, Trade Secrets & Noncompete Litigation practice, by phone at 215-772-7647 or email at domeara@mmwr.com.