Recent Articles

New York Appellate Court Upholds Contractual Provision Tolling Employee's Non-Compete Period Due To Employee's Violation of Non-Compete

David Clark
March 21, 2012 19:54

An increasingly common type of provision found in employment agreements, allowing for extension of an employee’s post-employment non-compete restrictions by a period of time that the employee violates the restrictions, was upheld in a recent decision by New York’s Appellate Division,...

Connecticut Supreme Court Rules That A Public Agency Can Create And Maintain Trade Secrets

March 16, 2012 19:10

The Supreme Court of Connecticut has ruled that a public agency, the University of Connecticut, can create and maintain trade secrets that are exempt from disclosure under the state’s Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”). The trade secrets are databases of customer lists...

Employee Use of Social Media in the Workplace: How Companies Can Protect Trade Secrets and Prevent the Misappropriation of Confidential Information

March 15, 2012 21:00

Complimentary Briefing/Webinar - Protect Trade Secrets and Confidential Information in a Social Media Workplace April 18, 2012 – EpsteinBeckerGreen Washington, DC Office 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM EDT - Briefing and Q&A (Webinar to start at 9:00 AM EDT) In a world where employers must store...

Utah Decision Broadly Construes The Uniform Trade Secrets Act's Preemption Provision

Peter Steinmeyer
March 14, 2012 21:47

In a decision recently issued by the Utah Court of Appeals, CDC Restoration & Construction, LC v. Tradesmen Contractors, LLC et al., the court broadly interpreted the preemption clause in the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (“UTSA”) to hold that it “preempts claims based on the...

Download Our Updated Guide to Non-Compete Laws in Illinois

Peter Steinmeyer
February 28, 2012 23:20

We are pleased to announce that an updated version of our guide, “Non-Compete Laws: Illinois,” is now available in PDF format. The updated guide reflects the recent Hafferkamp v. Llorca decision of the Second District of the Appellate Court of Illinois, which holds that Reliable Fire...

Our Updated Guide to Non-Compete Laws in Illinois

Peter Steinmeyer
February 28, 2012 23:20

We are pleased to announce that an updated version of our guide, “Non-Compete Laws: Illinois,” is now available in PDF format. The updated guide reflects the recent Hafferkamp v. Llorca decision of the Second District of the Appellate Court of Illinois, which holds that Reliable Fire...

Emotions Are No Substitute For Facts

February 23, 2012 16:03

It’s no secret that restrictive covenant and trade secrets claims are sometimes used as leverage in business disputes. However, the recent case of Sean Morrison Entertainment v. Thompson, et al. (pending in Chicago federal court as Case No. 11-cv-2462) serves as a reminder that the need for...

The Business of Protecting Customer Relationships

January 27, 2012 18:09

In an article appearing in the January 25, 2012 edition of www.law360.com, Peter L. Altieri and David J. Clark discuss how -- over a dozen years after the New York Court of Appeals specifically recognized, in BDO Seidman v. Hirshberg, 93 N.Y.2d 382, 690 N.Y.S.2d 854 (1999), that an employer may...

Canadian National Railway Company Sues Its Former CEO E. Hunter Harrison For Allegedly Violating Non-Compete And Non-Disclosure Obligations

Peter Steinmeyer
January 25, 2012 13:53

On January 23, 2012, the Canadian National Railway Company filed suit against its former Chief Executive Officer, E. Hunter Harrison, for allegedly violating certain non-compete and non-disclosure obligations. Peter A. Steinmeyer was interviewed about the lawsuit on the Business News...

New Jersey Adopts Statutory Trade Secret Protections

James P. Flynn
January 10, 2012 16:03

On Monday, January 9, 2012, Governor Chris Christie signed into the law the New Jersey Trade Secrets Act (NJTSA, http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2010/Bills/S2500/2456_R1.HTM), the Garden State’s version of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA). New Jersey, thus, becomes the forty-seventh state to...