Stephen Riden | Beck Reed Riden LLP

(617) 500-8672

sriden@beckreed.com

Stephen Riden is a commercial litigator who represents corporate and individual clients in a wide array of disputes across the country.

Stephen has extensive experience litigating business disputes involving breach of contract, fraud, unfair competition, trade secrets, and noncompete agreements. He has represented companies in a variety of governmental investigations. Stephen also has substantial experience representing owners involved in intra-corporate disputes, including shareholder litigation and close-corporation control matters.

Steve Riden was selected as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in New England and Top 100 Lawyers in Massachusetts.

In 2020, Steve was the President of the Board of Directors for the Boston College Law School Alumni Association.

In 2021 and 2022, he was the Co-Chair of the Board of Editors for the Boston Bar Journal. Previously, Steve was the Chair of the Board of Editors for the Boston Bar Journal, and the Co-Chair of the Boston Bar Association’s Business and Commercial Litigation Section.

Steve is the author of the first chapter in the book Damages, Interest, and Attorney Fees in Massachusetts Litigation. The chapter, supplemented in 2022, is titled “General Law of Damages in Massachusetts.”

Steve is also the author of the following resources for Thomson Reuters Practical Law:

In 2018, Steve was selected as a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America (LCA). The LCA is a trial lawyer honorary society representing less than one-half of one percent of American lawyers.

Prior to starting Beck Reed Riden LLP, Stephen was a senior counsel with Foley & Lardner LLP where he was a member of the Business Litigation & Dispute Resolution and IP Litigation Practices, as well as the Emerging Technologies Industry Team. He previously served as an appellate law clerk to the Honorable Elspeth B. Cypher, Appeals Court of Massachusetts.

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

Represented several key witnesses in a jury trial that resulted in an award of more than $2 billion in damages for trade secret misappropriation.
In a case involving the enforcement of noncompete and trade secrets clauses of an employment agreement, won a temporary restraining order against the new employer of a client’s former employee, prohibiting the new employer from employing the individual in any position relating to the employee’s prior job duties, and barring misappropriation of the client’s confidential information.
Obtained dismissal of a federal lawsuit accusing an out-of-state company of copyright infringement and conspiracy to commit copyright infringement.
Defeated a motion for preliminary injunction filed against client seeking to enjoin him from misappropriating trade secrets and competing in violation of a noncompete agreement.
Won a preliminary injunction on behalf of an insurance brokerage against seven former employees prohibiting them from soliciting employees and clients, and barring their use of confidential information.

Professional & Civic Activities

Member of the Board of Editors for the Boston Bar Journal (2022-2023).
President of the Boston College Law School Alumni Association (2020).
Chair and Co-Chair of the Board of Editors for the Boston Bar Journal (2019-2022).
Former Co-Chair of the Boston Bar Association’s Business and Commercial Litigation Section.
Member of the Boston Bar Foundation’s Society of Fellows.
Former Co-Chair of the Boston Bar Association’s Antitrust & Business Litigation Committee.
Former treasurer and member of the board of directors for the Wellmet Project, Inc., a nonprofit that operates group homes for people with mental illness.
Former chairman of the board of directors for The GIFT Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit community foundation based in Boston, where he served two years as its president.

Publications & News

“Legal Industry Is Split on FTC’s Proposed Ban on Non-Competes,” National Law Journal, January 2023, Quoted
“Unauthorized Acts by Shareholder Leads to Judgment in Close Corporation Dispute,” Author
“Gillette lawsuit seeks to draw line in the sand about poaching former employees,” Boston Business Journal, January 2015, Quoted
“Report: Firms should target global companies’ business,” Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, November 2013, Quoted; New England In-House, January 2014, Quoted
Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly article about the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, June 2013, Quoted
“Who Owns Employees’ Twitter Accounts?,” Forbes, November 2011, Quoted
Quoted in a Forbes article about a lawsuit filed by a company against its former employee for using a Twitter account after leaving the company, November 2011
“Preserving social media for e-discovery,” Lawyers USA, September 2011, Quoted
“Judge yanks earlier e-discovery decision,” Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, August 2011, Quoted
“Win for video game firms,” The Boston Globe, June 28, 2011, Quoted
“Taking your non-compete agreement from good to great,” New England In-House, May 2011, Author
“Ruling offers broad e-discovery lessons,” New England In-House, April 2011, Quoted
“Sanctions for e-discovery violations at ‘historic’ high,” Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, February 2011, Quoted
“E-discovery ruling draws bar’s attention,” Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, August 3, 2009, Quoted

Presentations

“Tortious Interference With Contracts, Business Relations, and Economic Advantage: Proving and Defending Claims,” Strafford, November 2022, Panelist
“Employee Duty of Loyalty Litigation – A National Survey,” Federal Bar Association, February 2021, Panelist
“How To Increase Your Visibility As A New Lawyer,” Boston Bar Association, Boston, MA, May 2020, Panelist
“Damages, Interest & Attorney Fees: Key issues for every trial attorney to overcome,” MCLE, Boston, MA, February 2018, Panelist
“Cyber-Security and Protecting Your Trade Secrets,” CEO Connection Mid-Market Convention, Philadelphia, PA, September 2017, Panelist
Boston Bar Association’s 15th Annual Intellectual Property Year in Review, January 2015, Boston, Speaker on trade secrets and noncompete agreements
“The Law of Digital Games” November 2012, Boston, Speaker on use of independent contractors, employment law trends, and non-competition and non-solicitation covenants
“Life As A Startup — Legal Do’s & Don’ts,” PoweredUp Boston’s 2010 Video Game Conference, Boston, MA, October 2010, Panelist
“Strategic IT Contracting: Laying the Groundwork for Tomorrow’s Success,” Boston, MA, June 2009, Speaker
“Ask the Attorneys: Noncompetes and Restrictive Covenants,” Boston, MA, June 2009, Speaker
“Alternative Dispute Resolution: When, Why, and How to Use Arbitration, Mediation, and Binding Mediation,” Boston, MA, May 2009, Speaker
“E-Discovery Preparedness and the Case for Information Management,” Chicago, IL and Cincinnati, OH, December 2008, Speaker
“Medical Records Law in Massachusetts,” Taunton, MA, Peabody, MA, and Dedham, MA, November & December 2008, Speaker & Contributing Author
“Legal View of Data Compliance,” Boston, MA, June 2007, Speaker
“Discovery in Employment Litigation,” MCLE, Boston, MA, July 2006, Speaker & Panelist

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