Quinn Emanuel Urqhart & Sullivan

Firm overview:

With its massive global reach, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan can confidently say that trade secrets litigation is a major part of its practice.

Peers recognise the firm as “excellent” and “outstanding” for its trade secrets work, with one peer counting it among the firms that “excel in litigation”. One high-profile firm comments that Quinn is one of “only a handful that has deep experience and the expertise to guide clients on complex matters with international components”.

Clients’ industries include aerospace, biotech, internet, medical devices, mobile devices, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, software, telecommunications and finance.

Often involved in the highest-stakes, highest-profile trade secrets disputes, Quinn has a reputation as a formidable opponent. In one case, a distinguished peer described the team as a “vigorous and effective opponent, and kept us on our toes right up to the end of the settlement”.

Quinn represents clients in state and federal courts, as well as in arbitrations, across the US and internationally. The firm was among the first to represent an aggrieved client under the Economic Espionage Act, which resulted in federal criminal convictions and an eight-figure civil jury verdict stemming from the theft of its trade secrets.

Team overview:

Rachel Epstein, Todd Anten, and Michael Zeller are co-chairs of the Trademark, Copyright, and Trade Secret practice.

The team’s expertise is particularly strong on technical trade secrets—almost 140 Quinn lawyers have technical degrees in virtually all areas of science and engineering. Specialists also have extensive experience in prosecuting and defending trade secrets cases in the financial industry, including those involving asset managers and investment funds.

Recent partner departures from the trade secrets cohort include Lindsay Cooper Hayman, who moved to Debevoise & Plimpton in August 2024.

Key matters:

• Jane Street Group v Millennium Management, case no. 24-cv-02783, US District Court, Southern District of New York, 2024.
  Alex Spiro, co-chair of the Investigations, Government Enforcement & White Collar Defense Practice; and national litigator Deborah Brown represent Jane Street Group in a Southern District of New York case. Jane Street Group accuses its former traders Douglas Schadewald and Daniel Spotiswood of using its “immensely valuable” proprietary platform at rival investment company Millennium Management, causing the loss of $150 million in profits. Spotiswood denies the allegations, labelling them “not only wrong but impossible”. In a signed statement, Schadewald said Jane Street is trying to “prevent me from doing honest work for a competitor.”
• Iqvia et al v Veeva Systems, District of New Jersey, 2022.
  Quinn Emanuel represents IQVIA and IMS Software Services (IQVIA) in an ongoing case involving misappropriation/misuse of trade secrets brought by Veeva Systems. The Quinn team uncovered in discovery that Veeva had been misappropriating IQVIA’s proprietary data and spoliating evidence, and moved for sanctions against Veeva. The court agreed, finding that Veeva had been “well aware that it was misappropriating IQVIA data”, had “engaged in an extensive clean-up endeavour to hide what had occurred”, and imposed adverse inference sanctions against Veeva. In May 2024, the court granted IQVIA's request to bifurcate the trade secret claims and ordered the parties to proceed to summary judgment on IQVIA's trade secret misappropriation claims and any related Daubert issues.
• Nantworks et al v Bank Of America, et al, Central District of California (Los Angeles), 2022.
  Quinn represents NantWorks in an ongoing trade secret misappropriation and breach of contract case against Bank of America, which also involves six patents in dispute. The case concerns Bank of America’s mobile cheque deposit feature in its mobile banking app. The trade secret claims are based on a collaboration between Bank of America and NantWorks’ predecessor to develop a mobile cheque deposit platform.

Clients:

Avery Dennison, Barnes & Noble, Corbis, Dow Chemical, easyJet Airlines, eBay, Fox, General Motors, Google, HBO, Home Depot, IBM, Intuit, Mattel, Motorola, MTV, Napster, Northrop Grumman, Olaplex, Paramount, Pfizer, Pinterest, Shell, Warner Home Video.