Global: Trade Secrets Shorts

Michael Brewer is the Managing Partner of Baker McKenzie's California offices in San Francisco, Palo Alto and Los Angeles and Chair of the Firm’s Global Employment & Compensation Practice. A trial lawyer who represents global and domestic clients, Michael has tried class action and single plaintiff employment cases before judges, juries and arbitrators. Super Lawyers has repeatedly recognized Michael for his superior defense of employment claims.

• Website

Aaron Goodman is a partner in Baker McKenzie's Litigation & Government Enforcement, Global Compliance & Investigations, and Securities Litigation groups. He has broad experience litigating complex local, national and international matters from inception to trial. Aaron is a thought-leader in identifying and achieving strategic client goals, bringing disputes to resolution quickly and efficiently.

• Website

Celeste is a principal in our Dispute Resolution and Employment Practice Groups. Her practice encompasses corporate and commercial dispute resolution, investigations and compliance. She has significant experience acting for global clients in cross-border disputes and advising clients on ethics & compliance and regulatory issues in the context of risks analysis and mitigation and cross-border investigations. Celeste also has a particular focus in employment, particularly contentious employment work and employee investigations.
Celeste has been recognised as a 'Litigation Star' in the Labor and Employment space by Benchmark Litigation Asia Pacific 2023 and has been ranked Band 1 in Employment in Singapore by Chambers Asia-Pacific since 2019 to date. A client has commended Celeste for being "a fantastic partner who knows our industry well and has been our first contact for external legal work for many years." Celeste is also ranked as a Leading Individual in Labour and Employment in Singapore by Legal 500 Asia Pacific since 2019 and noted by clients as "an experienced litigator with a very sound knowledge of the law, who is also able to consider the client’s commercial concerns when providing advice" and in the foreign firms section as "great at connecting her entire network when the client needs additional service outside Singapore."

• Website

Juan Pablo Concha joined Baker McKenzie Colombia in 1994 and was named partner in 2009. Although he can practice only in Colombia, he also provides advisory services in international intellectual property rights enforcement to multinational and local companies.

Shih Yann has a longstanding career with Baker McKenzie. He joined the Firm's Hong Kong office in 1993 and during his 29 years with the Firm, he has played a key role in implementing the Firm's China strategy, including as part of the management team that led the establishment of Baker McKenzie FenXun (FTZ) Joint Operation Office in 2015. Through the Joint Operation Office, the Firm has been able to assist clients with their legal needs across China, including in the Greater Bay Area. Shih Yann has also served on the committee that oversees Baker McKenzie's offices and member firms in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Korea and Vietnam. In October 2020, Shih Yann was elected to be a member of Baker Mackenzie’s Global Executive Committee. In his new role, Shih Yann will work with the firm’s leadership in implementing and executing the firm’s global strategy on clients and markets.

Stephen Ratcliffe is a partner in Baker McKenzie's Employment and Benefits practice in London. He has more than 14 years of legal experience and was recognized as an "Associate to Watch" by Chambers & Partners in 2014, 2015 and 2016 before his promotion to partnership. Stephen has been described as "very precise, technically excellent, but also very practical."

• Website

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.

• Website

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.

• Website

Jason Raeburn is a Partner in Baker McKenzie London and is an intellectual property and technology litigator. Jason's practice has a particular focus on complex technology disputes, often relating to trade secrets and copyright in the fields of software development and licensing, cloud and AI-related implementations. His practice also encompasses IP crossover issues involving breach of contract, IT infrastructure, the misuse of data and reputational threats. Jason also sits part-time as a judge in the English High Court, as a Deputy Master of the Chancery Division and as a Judge of the First-Tier Tribunal, hearing specialist appeals. Jason was recognised by Who's Who Legal as a "Future Leader" in Litigation (2021) and (2020) having been identified as one of "the most promising litigators in the world, whose skills and expertise are already turning heads at an international level". Legal 500 describes him as a "stand out name" for TMT and a key lawyer for high value IT and software disputes. Jason has also featured in Managing Intellectual Property as an "IP Star" (a ranking for notable intellectual property practitioners) and was shortlisted as a rising star in the British Black Business Awards (2021) and the British Legal Awards (2020). He was shortlisted as "Solicitor-Advocate of the Year" in the 2018 Law Society Excellence Awards in connection with his oral advocacy in court and appeared as sole advocate in a precedent case regarding the jurisdiction of the English Court of Appeal (Civil Division) - Handley v Lake Jackson & Ors [2016] EWCA Civ 465.

Mark D. Taylor is a Principal in the North America Litigation & Government Enforcement Practice Group and served as its Chair for five years. His commercial litigation practice focuses on the defense of class actions, collective actions and multi-district litigation (MDL) cases. In the last decade alone, he has appeared as lead trial counsel or co-counsel in over 40 class action, collective action and MDL cases, primarily defending consumer, contract, employment, privacy and trade secret claims. Mark's practice is national in scope, having appeared before state and federal courts in more than 25 states. He also serves on the Dean's Development Board at Texas A&M University's Mays Business School. Mays Business School awarded Mark its 2019 Outstanding Alumni Award, and he received the Distinguished Lawyer Award from the Texas Aggie Bar Association in 2021.

Christine Streatfeild is a Partner in the Washington DC Office and on the Steering Committee for the North America Trade Secrets Practice. She focuses on trade remedies and unfair competition cases, including forced labor investigations, 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 in state and federal courts. Prior to joining Baker McKenzie, Christine 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. She is also on the 2021 USMCA Dispute Settlement Panels Roster (on behalf of the United States), a position she has held since 2019 (under the NAFTA). Christine focuses her practice on matters related to trade regulatory and intellectual property matters, including economic injury and damages, import duty compliance, and unfair competition allegations.

• Website

Cristina Duch joined the Firm’s Intellectual Property Practice Group in 2006. She has significant experience in a wide range of intellectual property matters, with particular emphasis on trademarks, designs, unfair competition and advertisement. Ms. Duch is a member of the Spanish Institute of Chartered Industrial Property Agents.

Bin Xin Li is a partner with Baker McKenzie FenXun, a joint operation established by Baker McKenzie in China and FenXun Partners, which was approved by the Shanghai Justice Bureau in 2015. Li has contributed to this series.

Leticia Ribeiro C. de Figueiredo joined the Firm in 1998, as a corporate trainee, and became partner in 2013. Until July 2003, she was primarily involved in M&A and Corporate Law, with experience in national and international M&A projects and corporate restructurings. From July 2003 on, she has been working exclusively in the Labor Law practice group.
She has a wide breadth of experience with strategic litigation cases and relevant consultancy in individual and collective matters (i.e. restructuring, equity pay, PDVs – voluntary resignation program, PLRs – participation in profits or results, alteration of compensation plans and benefits), including national and international projects. Additionally, she works with collective bargaining agreements.
*Trench Rossi Watanabe and Baker McKenzie have executed a strategic cooperation agreement for consulting on foreign law.

• Website