Non-Compete/Trade Secrets

A company's clients and its trade secrets are often its most valuable assets. The firm’s Non-Compete/Trade Secrets Practice Group protects your business from unfair competition by implementing safeguards to protect these assets and by pursuing effective litigation strategies when these assets are threatened. The practice has significant experience in handling a diverse array of non-compete and trade secrets cases.

In today's technology-driven environment, it is often critical to utilize computer forensics research in non-compete and trade secrets cases. The ability to recover deleted files, browser history, and document routing can often protect a company. Therefore, we have developed an In-house Technology Forensics Team. This unique capability allows our team to react immediately to an emergent non-compete /trade secrets situation.

Recent Non-Compete and Trade Secret Successes

• Obtained payment of attorneys fees and permanent injunction for a national commercial kitchen equipment designer and installer against two former salespersons and their new employer preventing them from disclosing or using client's trade secrets, soliciting or performing work for client's customers, and hiring client's employees and independent sales representatives.

• Successfully attained a preliminary injunction for a Las Vegas, Nevada construction industry client enforcing a 5 year non-compete agreement enjoining a former employee from working in a particular industry segment.

• Won a jury trial on a breach of contract claim for a medical group against two of its former physicians/partners

• Obtained a permanent injunction in a trade secret case against a former executive on behalf of a national franchisor

• Won a declaratory judgment invalidating the non-compete agreement of a senior executive of a major department store chain

• Successfully obtained a two year permanent injunction against the senior officer of a major corporation and prevented the officer from working for a major competitor

• Defeated a major corporation from obtaining an injunction against its number one former salesperson

• Successfully obtained a temporary restraining order, a permanent injunction, damages, and attorney’s fees from former employees of our client, a publicly traded bank

For additional recent successes, click here.

Significant Accomplishments of the Practice Group:

• One of our attorneys serves as national non-compete counsel for a publishing and advertising company with thousands of employees nationwide.

• Two lawyers selected to Chambers USA America’s Leading Business Lawyers 2007

• Eleven lawyers selected as The Best Lawyers in America 2008

• Eleven lawyers selected for inclusion in Missouri/Kansas Super Lawyers 2007

• American College of Trial Lawyers

• Co-authors of a comprehensive article in 2006 on Missouri non-compete law. The article was cited as authoritative by the Missouri Supreme Court, and The Missouri Bar honored the two lawyers with the outstanding article of the year award.

• Co-authors of a comprehensive article in 2007 on trade secret litigation in Missouri

• American Academy of Hospital Attorneys

• Two past Presidents of The Missouri Bar

• Two Past Presidents of the Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers

Members of the Non-Compete/Trade Secrets Practice Group

Clifford, Nicholas	Laue, Brant
Cole, Clark	Lowry, Kent
Condon, Susan	Meulemans, Catherine
Corrigan, Bill	Moore, Craig
Covington, Brent	Nissenholtz, Todd
Cowling, John	Noel, Ted
Davis, Glenn	Quinn, Jack
Duncan, Jim	Sayad, Gentry
Galt, Scott	Schultz, Jeffrey
Greene, Dione	Schwendinger, Bob
Healey, Peter	Sophir, Mark
Jermann, David	Spalty, Ed
Kaiser, Bob	Summerville, Jay
Kass, Michael	Tucker, Larry
Kaveney, Brian	Vering, John
Kenny, Patrick	Virtel, Jim
Kozak, Scott

The non-compete/trade secrets group works closely with our business and IP Litigators to offer a comprehensive approach to the variety of problems businesses face in the area of intellectual property assets and competitors.

Click Here for Additional IP Litigation  Experience