WIPR Rankings reveals global trade secrets leaders

Global Trade Secrets Rankings 2024 recognises top law firms and individuals in the sector I Top industry figure elevated by peers as ‘Senior Statesperson’ | This year’s list shows broad distribution of global talent. 

Following on from the success of last year’s inaugural edition, WIPR Rankings has published the Global Trade Secrets Rankings for 2024, highlighting the firms at the top of their game in this increasingly important area of IP law.

In a new development for this year, trade secrets practitioners have been recognised as well as law firms, in what is the only global rankings of firms and professionals in the sector.

Backed by months of research, the results categorise law firms and individuals as ‘Outstanding’, ‘Highly Recommended’, ‘Recommended’ and ‘Notable’.

Baron Armah-Kwantreng, WIPR Rankings editor, said that trade secrets “thought leadership” was a significant criterion for inclusion in the 2024 list.

As it stands, US businesses face uncertainty over their employment contracts while the Federal Trade Commission’s non-competes ban is “enjoined, but not gone forever”, according to a recent Pennsylvania court ruling.

Another significant development this year has been the reversal of the $2 billion damages award handed to Appian in its dispute with Pegasystems, which has left question marks over the direction that trade secrets jurisprudence is taking and the enforceability of pay-outs on this scale.

The firms and individuals in the 2024 rankings are recognised for their first-class advice on how companies can win trade secrets disputes—as well as guard against legal action at critical moments such as onboarding staff and merging with other businesses.

For an area that is still relatively little understood, the results provide a valuable guide for counsel looking for knowledge on trade secrets matters.

One individual ranked as ‘Notable’ said that they felt “honoured to be included and to have made the cut. It really is a talented bunch.”

‘A truly global offering’

The results represent a global distribution of trade secrets expertise, with Hogan Lovells,  A&O Shearman, Linklaters and Dentons some examples of firms with strong practices outside of the US.

This year’s ‘Outstanding’ firms have “that internal knowledge” of secrets that puts them ahead of the rest, according to Armah-Kwantreng.

“They have the full-time practitioners, they have the caseload, they have the clients,” he said.

Celebrated as ‘Outstanding’ for the second year running, Jones Day handles “a large docket of trade secrets cases”, and its global network of IP lawyers collaborate with peers from practice areas including labour and employment, business litigation and cybersecurity.

Armah-Kwantreng tipped ‘Highly Recommended’ firm Hogan Lovells as on course to join the highest-ranked category, as its trade secrets department is a “truly global, multidisciplinary offering with the capability of handling global/cross-border trade secrets disputes”.

This year, former Paul Hastings partner Victoria Cundiff joined trade secrets veteran James Pooley as a ‘Senior Statesperson’ in the rankings.

Highly respected within the industry, peers describe Cundiff as a “brilliant, wonderful resource”, noted for her work as chair of the Sedona Conference Working Group 12 on Trade Secrets Law.

Advisory work gains prominence

A theme that emerged during the rankings team’s research was a greater emphasis on the importance of trade secrets advisory work, as opposed to litigation matters.

This could involve counselling on trade secrets identification, and the necessary steps a company must take internally to future-proof any potential claims.

Another aspect of this work is transactional, such as advising companies on trade secrets matters in the event of a merger or acquisition.

Freshfields is noted for being strong in this area, with its “characteristic mix of transactional trade secrets advice” including an award-winning role acting for the London Stock Exchange on its multibillion-dollar strategic tech transformation partnership with Microsoft.

The full Global Trade Secrets 2024 Rankings can be found here. 

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