Welcome to WIPR’s USA Trade Secrets Rankings 2025, which is defined by a legal landscape of “nuclear” verdicts, judicial reversals, and the explosive intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and proprietary data.
The year’s most consequential development was the Seventh Circuit’s confirmation in Motorola Solutions v Hytera that the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) applies extraterritorially if an “act in furtherance” occurs domestically. Steptoe, led by Boyd Cloern and Leah Quadrino, managed this sprawling global conflict for Hytera, navigating contempt proceedings and securing significant judgment reductions.
Facing them was Kirkland & Ellis, whose aggressive enforcement strategies continue to shape the market. AI has opened a new front in litigation. As xAI challenges California’s AI transparency law (AB 2013) on constitutional grounds, firms like Weil, Gotshal & Manges are at the forefront, with Gabe Gross representing the defendants in novel “prompt injection” disputes such as OpenEvidence v Veracity-Health. Damages awards remain volatile. WilmerHale's Josh Lerner continues to lead in the high-profile Masimo v Apple litigation.
Finally, following the set-aside of the Federal Trade Commission’s non-compete ban—challenged by amicus briefs led by Epstein Becker Green’s Erik Weibust—practitioners like ArentFox Schiff’s Linda Jackson and Matthew Prewitt are successfully navigating the complex, state-level reality of employee raiding and mobility disputes. This dynamic environment demands the sophisticated counsel highlighted in this year’s rankings.
Hall of Fame
Victoria Cundiff
James Pooley
Outstanding
Randy Kay, Jones Day
Doug Lumish, Weil, Gotshal & Manges
Jeff Pade, Paul Hastings
Michael De Vries, Kirkland & Ellis
Highly Recommended
David Almeling, O’Melveny & Myers
Adam Alper, Kirkland & Ellis
Andrew Bramhall, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
Amy Candido, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
Neel Chatterjee, King & Spalding
Boyd Cloern, Steptoe
Daralyn Durie, Morrison & Foerster
Charles (Tait) Graves, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Seth Gerber, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
Mark Klapow, Crowell & Moring
Sharre Lotfollahi, Kirkland & Ellis
Joseph Raffetto, Hogan Lovells
Anthony Sammi, Latham & Watkins
Bijal V. Vakil, Skadden Arps Meagher Slate & Flom
Michael Wexler, Seyfarth Shaw
Daniel Zaheer, Kobre & Kim
Recommended
Adam Gershenson, Weil Gotshal & Manges
Barbara Fiacco, Foley Hoag
Benjamin Fink, Berman Fink Van Horn
Carolyn Hoecker Luedtke, Munger, Tolles & Olson
Christopher Clark, Skadden Arps Meagher Slate & Flom
Darin Snyder, O’Melveny & Myers
David Elkins, Squire Patton Boggs
David Kelley, O’Melveny & Myers
David Singer, Jenner & Block
Dean Pelletier, Pelletier Law Firm
Dylan Wiseman, Buchalter
Erik Weibust, Epstein Becker Green
James Gale, Cozen O’Connor
John Gray, Perkins Coie
John Marsh, Bailey Cavaiieri
Jordan Grotzinger, Greenberg Traurig
Joshua Dalton, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
Joshua Lerner, WilmerHale
Joshua Simmons, Kirkland & Ellis
Kathi Vidal, Winston & Strawn
Lauren Linderman, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath
Marcus Mintz, Seyfarth Shaw
Michael Ng, Kobre & Kim
Michael Songer, White & Case
Michael Weil, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
Mindy Morton, Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch
Nicole Galli, ND Galli Law
Patrick O’Toole, Kirkland & Ellis
Patricia Young, Latham & Watkins
Peter Steinmeyer, Epstein Becker Green
Randall Kahnke, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath
Russ Falconer, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher
Russell Beck, Beck Reed Riden
Yar Chaikovsky, White & Case
Notable
Michael Shebelskie, Hunton Andrews Kurth
Benjamin Herbert, Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch
Scott Humphrey, Benesch
Greg Bombard, Greenberg Traurig
Scott Davis, Klarquist Sparkman
Stephen Fishbein, A&O Shearman
Chris LaVigne, A&O Shearman
Andrew LeGolvan, White & Case
Ron Lemieux, Squire Patton Boggs
William O’Neil, Winston & Strawn
Leah Quadrino, Steptoe
Ian Ross, Sidley Austin
