image of keys
George Becker/pexels.com

With the growing understanding of the importance of trade secrets to all businesses, our firm is on the vanguard of trade secret protection, assisting companies in developing the business processes necessary to effectively protect and prevent trade secret loss. 

For larger clients, we collaborate with existing in-house legal teams in developing an effective trade secret management system, bringing our experience and knowledge of the various challenges faced by companies grappling with these issues and a tool-kit of options and best practices for addressing such challenges. 

In the absence of dedicated in-house resources available for such a project, we can also handle the entire development and implementation of the system for the client. 

In most cases, we offer these trade secrets services on a flat fee basis that is tailored to the size of the business and the extent of in-house resources available to support the project, among other things. 

Trade Secrets Protection Program Development

image of colorful padlocks
Alexander Schimmeck/unsplash.com

We offer a holistic, customized approach to trade secret protection that combines our knowledge of trade secret law with a deep understanding of the business process complexities and the interdisciplinary nature of trade secrets protection programs. 

This knowledge has been gained through our work with clients on these issues as well as our involvement in several national best practices initiatives, which have provided access to and an understanding of the trade secret protection challenges faced and successful solutions employed by a variety of companies in different industries and settings.  While some other law or consulting firms may appear to offer similar services, few have both our background and experience to draw from in developing effective trade secrets protection systems.  We have spent countless hours exploring and researching these issues, so that especially companies new to this area do not have to.

Because there is no one size fits all method of trade secret protection, there are a myriad of factors that need to be considered in designing an effective program.  Accordingly, our trade secrets management process includes:

  • We start by developing an understanding of the kinds of trade secrets the company needs to protect and the extent to which trade secrets need to be shared within and outside the company (i.e., the trade secret work flow). 
  • We then review and assess the effectiveness of a company’s current trade secret protection measures, bringing in cybersecurity professionals to assist as needed.
  • We then partner with company personnel and legal staff in developing and implementing improved systems and processes that work for the particular client. 
  • The measures employed also typically include training employees, contractors, and other business partners on how to properly protect trade secrets and helping the businesses create a culture conducive to trade secret protection.
  • Where needed, we assist companies in conducting due diligence on potential business partners with regard to their trade secrets practices and developing contractual and other controls on how a company’s trade secrets will be handled by the business partners.  
  • We also assist in monitoring and enforcement efforts once systems are in place, conducting investigations of suspected instances of misappropriation and pursuing court remedies where appropriate.
  • We review the program both when incidents occur and on a periodic basis to ensure that it is keeping pace with current business needs, advancements in technology, and the evolving competitive landscape, making changes and improvements as needed.