This week, after close to a decade of “will they or won’t they” nail biters, the Massachusetts legislature finally passed a non-compete bill, just minutes before the end of the 2018 legislative session....more
8/3/2018
/ Choice-of-Law ,
Confidential Information ,
Employees ,
Employment Contract ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Garden Leave ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Misappropriation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Pending Legislation ,
Reformation ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
UTSA ,
Venue
Marc McGovern, the mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts (home to many of the Commonwealth’s established and emerging pharmaceutical, biotech, and other life sciences companies), published an op-ed in the Boston Globe regarding...more
Democratic U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) introduced legislation on April 26, 2018, entitled the Workforce Mobility Act (“WMA”). ...more
Tervis Tumbler Company, the maker of the infamous insulated tumblers, has found itself in hot water with a former supplier, Trinity Graphic. ...more
3/8/2018
/ Aiding and Abetting ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Civil Conspiracy ,
Compensatory Damages ,
Confidential Information ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Disgorgement ,
Fraud ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Misappropriation ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Punitive Damages ,
Trade Secrets
The Massachusetts legislature is back at it again. Under new leadership, the Joint Committee on Labor & Workforce Development recently scheduled a hearing for October 31, 2017 on the non-compete reform bills proposed in...more
The Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) states very clearly that an injunction issued pursuant thereto may not “prevent a person from entering into an employment relationship,” and that any conditions placed on a former...more
7/12/2017
/ Confidential Information ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Inevitable Disclosure Doctrine ,
Injunctions ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Misappropriation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Trade Secrets ,
TRO
In a recent formal Ethics Opinion, the American Bar Association stressed that lawyers must make reasonable efforts to prevent inadvertent or unauthorized access to confidential information relating to the representation of...more
5/23/2017
/ American Bar Association (ABA) ,
Confidential Information ,
Confidentiality Policies ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Security ,
Electronic Communications ,
Email ,
Encryption ,
Law Practice Management ,
Popular ,
Young Lawyers
This past Spring, we reported on the recently enacted Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”), which provides a new federal civil cause of action to trade secret owners seeking to pursue claims of trade secret misappropriation. ...more
12/21/2016
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
Confidential Information ,
Conversion ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Evidence ,
Immunity ,
Misappropriation ,
Motion to Compel ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Trade Secrets ,
Whistleblowers
Fresh off of signing the Defend Trade Secrets Act, the White House released a report yesterday entitled “Non-Compete Reform: A Policymaker’s Guide to State Policies,” which contains information on state policies related to...more
In what has become a highly anticipated annual game of “Will They/Won’t They,” the Massachusetts legislature again failed to pass comprehensive noncompete reform legislation this year, despite much fanfare and high hopes from...more
On March 25, 2016, a Massachusetts Superior Court judge struck down skin care salon Elizabeth Grady Face First, Inc.’s (“Elizabeth Grady” or the “Company”) attempt to make its non-compete agreement seem prettier than it...more