Our business litigation practice encompasses all facets of commercial relations particular to the FDA regulated industries. By thoroughly understanding the complexities of all facets of the food and drug industries, we are highly qualified to vigorously defend our clients’ interests in a range of forums from state and federal courts to regulatory agencies to alternative dispute resolution. Our team is prized for innovative litigation strategies which are increasingly emulated by others in this field and which provide streamlined and effective results.

Much of our work focuses on breach of contract cases involving IP licensing, supply chain problems, theft of trade secrets (including covenants not to compete), and manufacturer/supplier disputes. 

Our group also litigates against government agencies, like the FDA and FTC. We use our contacts in agencies to avoid government entanglements. But we are ready to sue or defend against suits by the agencies. 

Trade Secret Theft: in a world of competitive intelligence, companies face more issues on protection of trade secrets. The term trade secret refers to intellectual property—including but not limited to an idea, pattern, formula, or process—that is kept secret by the owner of that information to prevent its theft or misuse.

Examples of trade secrets in the life sciences include drug compounds, formulations, routes of synthesis, manufacturing details, protein production/isolation/post-translational modifications/assays/storage, vendor names and pricing, marketing strategies, etc. Trade secrets, by nature, provide a competitive advantage to the owner and are reasonably expected to remain a secret unless acquired via theft.

Although other forms of intellectual property are typically protected by official registration, trade secrets are not. Trade secrets are like a forgotten step-child. Registering for a patent or copyright, for example, creates an official record of your invention or artistic work. Your intellectual property can be traced back to this registration if someone tries to steal it or use it without your permission.

When a company is investigating if secrets are being stolen, there are lots of places to look. In our experience, thieves tend to conduct the same activities. Our investigation into the theft or misappropriation of your trade secret may include the following: USB sticks; company and personal emails; uploads to cloud storage; identifying access to network drives/middle of the night access to file servers; on-site key card analysis of sensitive areas; bulk copying at copy centers; and last minute trips to foreign countries. 

We help clients analyze data to establish independent development, avoid claims of inevitable disclosure, avoid claims of breaches of confidentiality, and defend against theft claims. 

We have years of experience representing both plaintiffs and defendants in trade secrets litigation. Trade secret cases are complex and require experienced, first-chair litigators ready to proceed to the courts to prosecute or defend against emergency applications for injunctive relief. 

Examples of our work include: 

• Assisting with breach of contract matters related to defective manufacturing, misuse or theft of IP confidentiality and non-competes
• Litigating corporate matters such as partnership and shareholder disputes
• Counseling on all aspects of trade regulation and competitive disputes
• Prosecuting and defending professional and product liability claims
• Defending state and federal business claims involving the False Claims Act, breach of contract, fraud, replevin, anti-kickback statutes and tortious interference.

To learn more about our Patent Litigation expertise, please see our in-depth practice description HERE.

To learn more about our Consumer & False Advertising expertise, please see our in-depth practice description HERE.