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Baker McKenzie’s North America Trade Secrets Practice is a true cross-disciplinary team of industry ranked and recognized intellectual property, employment, tech transaction, litigation and trial attorneys exclusively dedicated to helping clients identify, protect, prosecute and defend their most valuable, complex and market-differentiating trade secrets throughout the US, Canada, Mexico and globally.

Focus on Trade Secrets Video Series

Listen on-demand to our Focus on Trade Secrets video discussion hosted regularly by our North America Trade Secrets Practice. During each discussion, our attorneys cover hot topics, trends and legal developments in the trade secrets area, both from a domestic and international perspective, addressing issues and offering practical tips and best practices that will help you identify, protect, prosecute and defend your trade secrets.

Episode 9 (March 20): When to Patent and When to Maintain as Trade Secret
Presenters: Bradford NewmanKevin O’Brien and Sara Pitt 
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Episode 8 (March 12): Avoiding the Entity List: Rise of Trade Secrets Enforcement Risk through US Export Controls
Presenters: Bradford NewmanAlexandre LamyJessica Nall and Christine Streatfeild
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Episode 7 (March 5): Discovery in Trade Secrets Cases
Presenters: Bradford NewmanMichael Brewer and Mark Goodman
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Episode 6 (January 8): Key Considerations in Parallel Criminal and Civil Trade Secrets Cases
Presenters: Bradford NewmanJessica Nall and Christine Streatfeild
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Episode 5 (November 6): Snap Removal in Trade Secret Cases
Presenters: Bradford NewmanAllen Al-Haj and Mark Ratway
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Episode 4 (October 14): Does Inclusion of ‘Ideas’ and
‘Know-how’ in Confidential Information and
Invention Assignment Agreements Constitute
an Unenforceable Non-compete under California Law?

Presenters: Bradford NewmanAnne Kelts Assayag and Colton Long
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 . Episode 3 (September 11): DOJ’s China Initiative —
Insights on Trade Secrets Criminal Liability

Presenters: Bradford NewmanJessica NallChristine Streatfeild and Katelyn Sprague
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 . Episode 2 (August 6): Employee Non-Solicitation Clauses
in California: Quickly Clearing up the Confusion

Presenters: Bradford NewmanMichael Brewer and Mark Taylor
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 . Episode 1 (July 6): Using Ex Parte Seizure Orders to
Protect Trade Secrets

Presenters: Kevin O’Brien and Jennifer Semko

 

Trade Secrets Webinar Series

Listen on-demand to our monthly Trade Secrets webinar series. This hour-long presentation, led by members of our North America Trade Secrets Practice and featuring other subject-matter experts, offers specific guidance to assist companies as they continue to navigate through complex and ever-evolving data protection issues.

 . October 2020: When Trade Secret Theft Is a Crime
Presenters: Bradford NewmanJessica Nall, Katie Wawrzyniak (U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of California), Special Agent Adelaida Hernandez (Federal Bureau of Investigation)
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 . September 2020: How to Protect Trade Secrets Through Optimized Licensing Agreements
Presenters: Kevin O’BrienChristine StreatfeildAnne Kelts Assayag
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 . June 2020: Filling Data Protection Gaps in the New Working Environment
Presenters: William DuganJohn MurphyDonna Williams
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May 2020: Protecting Trade Secrets in the Rapid Remote World: 10 Specific Steps to Take Now
Presenters: Bradford NewmanJennifer SemkoChristine Streatfeild
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New Risks as COVID-19 Forces Rapid Technology Adoption
Corporate Compliance Insights, January 21, 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic has created urgency for organizations to ramp up digital adoption, but as they pivot entire service lines, digitalize operations and automate processes, they create unintended compliance risks. Baker McKenzie partner Jessica Nall explains.

Using AI to Make Hiring Decisions? Prepare for EEOC Scrutiny
Bloomberg Law, January 15, 2021
Ten senators have written to the EEOC asking it to use its power to investigate and take enforcement action against vendors who create — and companies that utilize — discriminatory hiring algorithms. Baker McKenzie partner Bradford Newman explains what steps companies should take to prepare.

Nine Steps Cannabis Companies Can Take to Protect Trade Secrets
Bloomberg Law, December 15, 2020
Given less uncertainty about federal-level protections in the cannabis industry, cannabis companies should home in on protecting their trade secrets. Baker McKenzie attorneys Christine Streatfeild, William Dugan and Colton Long offer nine steps to protect intellectual property assets and preserve or enhance enterprise value.

5 Steps Every Company Should Take to Avoid Data Theft Risk
Dark Reading, November 12, 2020
The accelerated shift to remote workforces resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic has exasperated the challenge of protecting corporate data and intellectual capital. It has never been easier for employees to compromise their employers’ systems. Absent protocols designed for remote workforces, many companies are scrambling to keep tabs on the whereabouts of their property and IP. Bradford Newman outlines steps to mitigate the risk of data theft.

Societal Upheaval during the COVID-19 Pandemic Underscores Need for New AI Data Regulations
Tech Crunch, July 10, 2020
As a long-time proponent of AI regulation that is designed to protect public health and safety while also promoting innovation, Bradford Newman expresses his belief that Congress must not delay in enacting, on a bipartisan basis, Section 102(b) of The Artificial Intelligence Data Protection Act. Newman proposed this legislation, which is now a House of Representatives Discussion Draft Bill. In this article, he outlines how guardrails in the form of Section 102(b)’s ethical AI legislation are necessary to maintain the dignity of the individual.

Bradford Newman, Chair of North America Trade Secrets Practice – Interview Series
Unite.AI, June 5, 2020
Bradford Newman specializes in matters related to trade secrets and artificial intelligence. He is the chair of the AI Subcommittee of the ABA. Recognized by the Daily Journal in 2019 as one of the Top 20 AI attorneys in California, Bradford has been instrumental in proposing federal AI workplace and IP legislation that in 2018 was turned into a United States House of Representatives Discussion Draft bill. He has also developed AI oversight and corporate governance best practices designed to ensure algorithmic fairness.

Author

Bradford Newman is a litigation partner resident in Baker McKenzie's Palo Alto Office and Chair of the North America Trade Secrets Practice. According to Chambers USA, Brad is a "recognized authority on trade secrets cases" who "is valued for his tenacious, intelligent and thoughtful approach to trade secrets matters." Bradford regularly serves as lead trial counsel in cases with potential eight and nine-figure liability, and has successfully litigated (both prosecuting and defending) a broad spectrum of trade secrets cases in state and federal courts throughout the country. He routinely advises and represents the world's leading technology, banking, professional service, manufacturing and commerce companies in connection with their most significant data protection and trade secret matters. Bradford is the author of Protecting Intellectual Property in the Age of Employee Mobility: Forms and Analysis, a comprehensive treatise published by ALM that offers authoritative guidance on legal risks and practical steps companies can take to protect their IP and remedy IP theft.

Author

George practices trial and appellate litigation. He has been lead counsel before various administrative tribunals and the courts throughout the country, including the Supreme Court of Canada. He represents defendants in high-profile and reputation threatening cases, such as large-stakes labour litigation, fraud and trade secrets litigation, partnership disputes, multimillion dollar employment class-actions, large-issue employment litigation, and prominent administrative and public law issues, including those involving the Charter. George also advises Boards on business critical issues, including financial, regulatory, and executive level sensitive matters.

Author

Kevin O'Brien is a partner in Washington, DC and former Chair of the North America Intellectual Property Practice Group. Mr. O'Brien has served as Co-Chair of the Patent Litigation Committee of the Federal Circuit Bar Association and has taught a course on Trade and Competition at Johns Hopkins University. He is currently Chair of the Trade Secrets Business Unit of the Global IPTech Group. He has more than 30 years of experience practicing in the areas of intellectual property and international trade law, with an emphasis on counseling and enforcement. Mr. O'Brien has been recognized as a leading lawyer by Chambers USA (District of Columbia) and has been selected as one of the "best lawyers" for IP law in Best Lawyers in America and in the Legal 500.

Author

Jessica is a partner in our San Francisco and Palo Alto offices. For more than two decades, she has been deeply involved in defending a range of preeminent government enforcement cases in the tech industry in California and beyond. Jess has helped a number of well-known public and private companies navigate high-profile crisis situations involving cutting-edge government enforcement and compliance issues. She has handled dozens of internal investigations for tech companies and has defended executives, employees, and groups of witnesses as "pool counsel" in cases at the forefront of evolving government enforcement including trade secrets and economic espionage, crypto-currencies, blockchain, and financial technology. Clients appreciate Jess for her practicality, complex strategic thinking, and deft ability to assemble effective defense teams domestically and across the globe.

Author

William (Bill) Dugan is a partner in Baker McKenzie’s Employment and Compensation Practice Group, residing in Chicago and New York, chair of the US Disputes Employment Group, co-chair of the North American Employment Disputes Group, and a member of the Steering Committee for the North American Employment and Compensation Practice. Bill has been recognized as a leader in labor and employment law by Chambers, he has been repeatedly recognized for his superior litigation defense in Super Lawyers, and Legal 500 has stated that Bill is a “master in the art of defending corporations in litigation.” Bill represents management in complex litigation in federal and state courts and other tribunals throughout the United States, including trade secret and restrictive covenant matters, class and collective actions, and labor arbitrations. Bill also counsels employers on a wide range of Labor and Employment issues.

Author

Christine Streatfeild is a partner in the IPTech Practice Group. She has a broad range of trade, regulatory, and litigation experience, most frequently representing clients in antidumping and countervailing duty cases, safeguard measures, duties imposed for national security purposes (Section 232 duties), and Section 337 intellectual property and trade secrets disputes. She appears before the US International Trade Commission (ITC), US Department of Commerce (DOC), and the federal courts. She also routinely advises companies regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on issues affecting mergers, acquisitions, licensing, and compliance. Prior to joining Baker McKenzie, Ms. Streatfeild served as the acting deputy director of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and in the Environment and Natural Resources division of the Office of the United States Trade Representative. She has also served as an adjunct professor at the Krieger School, Johns Hopkins University, where she taught Global Trade, Policy and Competition.

Author

Sara Pitt is an associate in Baker McKenzie's Los Angeles office and a member of the Firm's Litigation and Government Enforcement practice. She represents foreign and domestic corporations involved in high-stakes commercial litigation, with a focus on cross-border disputes.