On Tuesday, January 31, 2023, Russell Beck will be speaking at Sandpiper Partners’ sixth annual program on trade secrets. The event, which Russell is co-moderating, will be held in San Francisco. This invitation-only program is titled “Trade Secrets Protection, Enforcement, and Litigation.”

The one-day, in-person program starts at 9 a.m. PT on January 31, 2023 at Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe Conference Center, 405 Howard Street, San Francisco, California. More details are available here.

The program brings together judges, in-house counsel, FBI agents, and outside lawyers from across the country. Attendees will learn about the following topics:

  • Forum selection for civil enforcement
  • Criminal prosecution and cooperation with the government
  • Discovery and trial strategy
  • Damage award trends and non-monetary relief
  • Corporate best practices for managing and protecting trade secrets

According to the event’s description:

DOJ and FBI are aggressively pursuing cases involving foreign parties, individuals and state actors such as China, and U.S. domestic individuals engaged in trade secret thievery. On the criminal and civil sides, these prosecutions are resulting in very large verdicts. A number of prosecutions have resulted in over ten figure awards. The field is a wash with competitors using IP for and against their interest.

The panel on protection of trade secrets after the Pandemic is key to understanding these awards. Key topics include defining trade secrets, ownership and state laws as well as federal actions, patent vs trade secrets issues, and restrictions on enforcement of employee non-solicitation, non-compete agreements.

For up-to-the-minute analysis of legal issues concerning trade secrets and noncompete agreements in Massachusetts and across the United States, read Russell Beck’s blog, Fair Competition Law.

eck Reed Riden LLP is among the leading authorities in trade secret, noncompete, and unfair competition law, and our experience handling these matters is backed by our extensive employment law and business litigation experience. Our hand-picked team combines attorneys with complementary expertise and practical experience.

The Wall Street Journal featured Beck Reed Riden LLP’s noncompete agreement experience. In 2016, the White House issued a report entitled, “Non-Compete Agreements: Analysis of the Usage, Potential Issues, and State Responses,” relying in part on Beck Reed Riden LLP’s research and analysis, including its 50 State Noncompete Survey.

Russell Beck’s work in this area is well recognized, and includes:

  • Over thirty years of experience working on trade secret, noncompete, and unfair competition matters
  • Assisting the Obama White House as part of a small working group to develop President Obama’s Noncompete Call to Action
  • Authoring the book Negotiating, Drafting, and Enforcing Noncompetition Agreements and Related Restrictive Covenants (6th ed., MCLE, Inc. 2021), used by other lawyers to help them with their noncompete matters
  • Authoring the book Trade Secrets Law for the Massachusetts Practitioner (1st ed. MCLE 2019), covering trade secrets nationally, with a focus on Massachusetts law
  • Drafting and advising on legislation for the Massachusetts Legislature to define, codify, and improve noncompetition law
  • Teaching Trade Secrets and Restrictive Covenants at Boston University School of Law
  • Founding and administering the award-winning blog, Fair Competition Law
  • Establishing and administering the Noncompete Lawyers and Trade Secret Protection groups on LinkedIn, with over 1,660 and 870 members, respectively, around the world
  • Founded and chaired the Trade Secret / Noncompete Practice for an AmLaw 100 firm

In addition, Russell was honored for his work in this area of law in the 2020 Chambers USA Guide, which stated that Russell Beck is “an expert in the field of trade secret and restrictive covenant law,” and is also noted for his “ability to adjust and come up with successful solutions.” Chambers noted that Russell “basically wrote the new Massachusetts statute on noncompetes” and that “he’s an expert in employee mobility and nonrestrictive covenants.”

Beck Reed Riden LLP is Boston’s innovative litigation boutique. Our lawyers have years of experience working with clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to start-ups and individuals. We focus on business litigation and employment.

We are experienced litigators and counselors, helping our clients as business partners to resolve issues and develop strategies that best meet our clients’ legal and business needs – before, during, and after litigation. We’re ready to roll up our sleeves and help you. Read more about us, the types of matters we handle, and what we can do for you here.