Jenner & Block
Firm overview:
Jenner & Block is a heavyweight litigator when it comes to trade secrets cases, and has been involved in some of the most high-profile matters over the past few decades.
The firm lists PepsiCo v Redmond—the 1995 trade secrets lawsuit in which PepsiCo secured an injunction against a former employee who had joined Quaker Oats—among the cases it has been involved with. It has also scored some headline-making wins and settlements for clients in more recent trade secrets lawsuits.
The firm draws upon the deep bench of experience in its Trade Secrets and Restrictive Covenants Practice to achieve results for clients in often fast-moving trade secrets litigation. Its attorneys also counsel on reducing the risk of trade secrets misappropriation, and draft restrictive covenant agreements and non-disclosure provisions.
Team overview:
Jenner & Block’s trade secrets practice is headed up by seasoned litigators Debbie Berman, Nick Saros and Andrew Vail.
First chair trial lawyer Berman is recognised as a thought leader on the changing landscape of restrictive covenants. She has also worked to develop policies and build corporate culture to protect trade secrets in the US and overseas.
Brent Caslin, another notable member of the team, has a deep understanding of trade secret dispute scenarios. He led the investigation and filings of a trade secrets lawsuit by Epic Systems against Tata Consultancy that resulted in an initial $940 million jury verdict against Tata, later reduced to $280 million.
Century City lawyer David Singer is co-chair of the Content, Media and Entertainment practice and handles disputes for studios, networks and tech companies. Singer, who is ranked as a ‘Notable’ individual in these rankings, works with clients on cases involving valuable intellectual property, including trade secrets, in blockbuster movies and hit TV shows.
A lawyer who was on the other side of a high-profile case from Singer, where the case settled favourably for the lawyer’s client, acknowledges Singer as a capable adversary: “He had some blows and some good moments in the case and is a good lawyer in this area.”
Key matters:
- United States of America v Huawei Technologies
In November 2024, Huawei asked a New York judge to strike out a multitude of charges levelled at it by the US government, including racketeering, wire and band fraud, and trade secrets-related conspiracies.
The company said there was no basis for the allegations and that the charges were part of the Department of Justice’s China Initiative to target firms and companies with links to China. Huawei is represented by a team from Sidley Austin led by Douglas Axel, as well as David Bitkower and Matthew Hellman from Jenner & Block.
- Move v CoStar Group et al
Jenner & Block represents Move, the company behind property listings service Realtor.com, in a trade secrets lawsuit filed in California against competitor CoStar and a former Move employee, James Kaminsky. The suit alleges that the ex-employee “invaded Move’s secure computer systems”, “secretly exfiltrated” its trade secrets and spied on real-time e-documents to give CoStar an unfair advantage.
Brent Caslin, Elizabeth Baldridge and David Singer are among the Jenner & Block team for Move. Latham & Watkins represent defendant CoStar, while Brown Neri Smith and Khan represent Kaminsky.
- Cognizant TriZetto Software Group v Infosys, US District Court for the Northern District of Texas, No. 3:24-cv-02158
Jenner & Block represents Indian tech company Infosys in a trade secret dispute with Cognizant Trizetto Group. Software provider Cognizant TriZetto filed a complaint in August 2024, alleging misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of contract, and unfair competition by Infosys.
The plaintiff accuses Infosys of stealing trade secrets related to its healthcare insurance software, claiming that Infosys unlawfully extracted data from its databases and used it to build and market competing software.
Clients:
Huawei, Infosys, Move
