Litigation Departments of the Year—Specialty Labor and Employment, Finalist: Sills Cummis & Gross
The New Jersey Law Journal will honor attorneys and legal professionals at an awards ceremony later this fall.
October 24, 2024 at 11:00 AM
5 minute read
Answers were provided by Patricia Prezioso, Chair, Employment and Labor Practice Group, Sills Cummis & Gross.
What are some of the department's most satisfying successes of 2023, and why?
In recent years, our department has handled many trade secret matters involving claims of employee misappropriation, either with our client losing data through exiting employees or being accused of having a competitor's data coming into a client's system through a new hire. The term "trade secrets" encompasses more than secret formulas, as the term is broadly defined under federal and state law, and may include customer information, sales data, and the like, depending on how the company protected the information. These cases require quick and accurate work because the resulting business losses can be devastating. When our clients are defendants in such claims, a swift and thorough investigation makes for a robust defense and often assists our clients in shortening or avoiding litigation. These claims involve businesses of all sizes, with clients ranging from the Fortune 200 to startups. As is common with the "practice" of law, the lessons learned in litigating in this area informs our counseling. The increase in these claims has provided keen insight into our policy, protocol, and agreement drafting regarding confidentiality, permissive data use, restrictive covenants, and codes of conduct. We strive to reduce our clients' unfair competition risk and we seek to ensure that our clients have taken sufficient "reasonable measures" to meet the Defend Trade Secret Act requirements, should the client need its protection. By way of example, employee on-boarding procedures help avoid allegations of misappropriation, while off-boarding procedures help ensure all data is collected and minimally shows efforts to track data. These matters are very satisfying because they continually test the rigor of our employment policy and agreement drafting at a time when this area of the law continues to develop, and has led to wonderful business partnerships with several clients who view us as trusted advisors in protecting their sensitive information.
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Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
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