Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati

Firm overview:

Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati is synonymous with the development of trade secrets as a legal practice alongside the growth of the global technology cluster in Silicon Valley. The firm has advised and represented hundreds of visionary companies, entrepreneurs, investors, and startup founders—in Silicon Valley and around the world via its office network across the US, Europe and Asia.

Consequently, Wilson Sonsini has one of the most in-depth, technology-focused trade secrets and employee mobility practices. Wilson Sonsini attorneys litigate trade secrets and employee mobility cases to jury trials and appeals, and provide strategy on complex technologies for founders and companies alike.

The firm’s trade secret attorneys are widely published and recognised as leaders in the field. The firm often raises creative legal theories that have been adopted in published cases and subsequently followed by other law firms.

The trade secrets team works with their patent, copyright, privacy and data protection, employment, antitrust, and trademarks colleagues to advise clients on areas of new technology development.

In August 2022, Wilson Sonsini participated in the $1.3 million pre-seed funding of Tangibly, a trade secrets management platform. Commenting on the investment, Wilson Sonsini corporate partner Patrick Schultheis, said: “Leaking of trade secrets not only causes companies to lose their market advantage, it can also make it difficult to pursue legal enforcement action despite the very clear laws and regulations protecting trade secrets.”

Team overview:

Wilson Sonsini has a large coterie of attorneys with trade secrets experience across its global footprint.

San Francisco partner Charles Tait Graves litigates trade secret disputes and provides intellectual property counselling on complex trade secrets matters. Graves is among a shortlist of leading global trade secrets lawyers recognised by his peers. As an adjunct professor, Graves has taught a course on trade secret law at UC Law San Francisco since 2009.

Says a peer: “Charles Tait Graves is a thought leader and is very great in this area—someone to have on the team for his brain power. He is also a damages expert, which is a good combination with his other skill set.”

A number of Graves’ ideas and approaches have been adopted in important court rulings, setting new precedent in California and influencing the practice of US trade secrets law. He achieved a complete victory in an arbitration in 2023 and the resolution of a long-running case between cybersecurity vendors in California state court.

Amy Candido, noted as “very dedicated to the law in trade secrets” by leading peers, is a trial lawyer in the San Francisco office, focused on high-stakes, complex intellectual property matters. 

Candido has extensive experience litigating patents, trade secrets, copyrights, and other IP in “bet the company” cases across the US for plaintiffs and defendants. She has tried numerous jury and bench trials, securing courtroom victories in a variety of challenging cases.

In May 2024, Jess Krannich joined the Salt Lake City office of Wilson Sonsini, opened in 2021, from rival Kirkland & Ellis, where he managed the office and the litigation team. Krannich is experienced in complex commercial litigation, covering trade secrets, IP disputes and antitrust litigation.

Key matters:

• Attia v Google, case no. 19-15771, United States District Court for the Northern District of California / US Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit, 2020

Charles Tait Graves helped win summary judgment twice for Google in a case centring on standing issues regarding the interplay of trade secret claims and patent application assignments . The plaintiffs’ appeal was denied in November 2023.

• Biohaven Therapeutics v Avilar Therapeutics

Amy Candido represents biopharmaceutical company Avilar, life sciences and drug development company RA Capital and Dr Deshpande in a trade secrets misappropriation and breach of contract case related to extracellular protein degradation using bi-functional molecules. The case values the contested trade secrets at $75 million.

• DAT Solutions v Convoy

Amy Candido, Charles Tait Graves, Jordan Jaffe, Jordan Nelson and Justina Sessions represented Convoy in defending a case brought by DAT Solutions. The plaintiff alleged misappropriation of trade secrets and breach of contracts by creating a competing ‘load board’ enabling freight brokers to post shipment listings for transport.

The Wilson Sonsini team achieved a rare dismissal of DAT’s claims on the basis that DAT had failed to take reasonable measures to maintain the secrecy of the contested information, because market participants were able to access the information through a mobile application, the internet and monitors in truck stops. Squire Patton Boggs lawyers Damond Mace & Sean McGrane, represented DAT Solutions.

Clients:

Avilar, Convoy, Google, RA Capital.