Category Archives: Litigation

Panel of Global Employment Lawyers Agrees on One Thing: U.S. Noncompete Laws Create Unique Challenges

The state-by-state patchwork of noncompete laws is difficult enough for U.S.-based businesses, let alone employers with a cross-border presence. I had the pleasure of exploring this topic with a panel of U.S. and UK-based employment lawyers as part to the … Continue reading

Posted in Covenants Not to Compete, Executive contracts, Litigation, Non-Competes, Trade Secrets | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Panel of Global Employment Lawyers Agrees on One Thing: U.S. Noncompete Laws Create Unique Challenges

Former MLB Pitcher Claims Astros Stole More than Hand Signals in Runup to 2017 World Series

Former MLB pitcher Mike Bolsinger has come up with a novel legal strategy as he (literally) relitigates his shoddy third-of-an-inning performance against the Astros in their runup to the 2017 World Series. The journeyman pitcher gave up four runs and … Continue reading

Posted in Defend Trade Secrets Act, Litigation, Trade Secrets, Uncategorized, Uniform Trade Secrets Act | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Former MLB Pitcher Claims Astros Stole More than Hand Signals in Runup to 2017 World Series

Winning in Litigation Starts with Recognizing what Success Looks Like

I’ve learned over time that sometimes clients have a different version “winning” in litigation than their lawyer. Trial lawyers tend to be consumed with keeping score on issues that don’t matter much to clients. Legal disputes and conflict have a … Continue reading

Posted in ADR, CEOs, Litigation | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Winning in Litigation Starts with Recognizing what Success Looks Like

Treatment of Trump-Ukraine Informer Could Have Chilling Effect on Corporate Whistleblowers 

Whistleblowers have a variety of understandable reasons for bravely coming forward – but winning a popularity contest is rarely one of them. After all, they are typically corporate or government insiders alleging fraud and wrongdoing, which tends to render them vulnerable … Continue reading

Posted in Dodd-Frank, Fiduciary Duty, Legal, Litigation, Sarbanes-Oxley, Whistleblowers | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Treatment of Trump-Ukraine Informer Could Have Chilling Effect on Corporate Whistleblowers 

Dallas Morning News Interviews Joe Ahmad About Clash of the Dating App Start-Ups

The Dallas Morning News took a close look at a raft of lawsuits facing Dallas-based online dating company Match.com, including a series of bitter lawsuits with rival startup Bumble, which I’ve written about previously on this blog. DMN Reporter Danielle Abril … Continue reading

Posted in CEOs, Corporate culture, Litigation, Trade Secrets | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Dallas Morning News Interviews Joe Ahmad About Clash of the Dating App Start-Ups

Fifth Circuit Reminder: Words Matter in Employment Contacts, Restrictive Covenants

Sometimes the most fundamental legal concepts are so basic and intuitive that they tend to fall by the wayside in practice. Case in point is a recent Fifth Circuit opinion throwing out an arbitration agreement because the employer didn’t follow … Continue reading

Posted in Arbitration agreements, Executive contracts, Fiduciary Duty, Legal, Litigation | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Fifth Circuit Reminder: Words Matter in Employment Contacts, Restrictive Covenants

Trump-Daniels Affair Exposes Inherent Legal Challenges with Hush Agreements

There are plenty of clues that the so-called “hush agreement” between Donald Trump and porn actress Stormy Daniels (née Stephanie Clifford) was hastily crafted and poorly thought out. Executed just days before the 2016, the non-disparagement agreement has a wealth … Continue reading

Posted in Complaints Against Executives, Confidential Information, Corporate culture, Legal, Litigation, Workplace Romances | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Trump-Daniels Affair Exposes Inherent Legal Challenges with Hush Agreements

As Date Nears for Google v. Uber Trade Secret Trial, Uber Insiders Describe Culture of Espionage and Secrecy

In the year since Google’s autonomous vehicle subsidiary Waymo first leveled allegations that Uber had poached star engineer Anthony Levandowski knowing that he was bringing a raft of stolen trade secrets with him, the contentious litigation has consistently revealed new … Continue reading

Posted in CEOs, Complaints Against Executives, Confidential Information, Corporate culture, Criminal Prosecutions, Defend Trade Secrets Act, Litigation, Trade Secrets | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on As Date Nears for Google v. Uber Trade Secret Trial, Uber Insiders Describe Culture of Espionage and Secrecy

Study Finds Public Losing Patience When CEOs Act Out

Add Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, Amazon’s entertainment chief Roy Price and KB Home’s Jeffrey Mezger to the growing list of executives making headlines for the wrong reasons. One of the most powerful producers in Hollywood, Weinstein was forced out after … Continue reading

Posted in CEOs, Complaints Against Executives, Corporate culture, Executive Compensation, Executive contracts, Executive Management Style, Legal, Litigation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Study Finds Public Losing Patience When CEOs Act Out

Game industry executive’s job-hopping mistake leads to `Game Over’ jury verdict for Facebook/Oculus

Hours after a Dallas jury returned its $500 million verdict for ZeniMax over claims that Facebook and Oculus unfairly used its virtual reality coding, the creator of that code, John Carmack, took to social media to continue his defense. Carmack, … Continue reading

Posted in Complaints Against Executives, Confidential Information, Executive contracts, Litigation, Non-Competes, Trade Secrets | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Game industry executive’s job-hopping mistake leads to `Game Over’ jury verdict for Facebook/Oculus