Morrison & Foerster

Firm overview:

Morrison Foerster is recognised by peers as among the leading firms on complex trade secrets matters, and one of the early specialists in trade secrets practice, growing up with the tech environment around Silicon Valley. Lawyers at the firm frequently appear before juries, judges and arbitrators to try cases involving misappropriation of trade secrets, the Computer Fraud & Abuse Act, restrictive covenants, departures of key employees, and other related issues.

MoFo’s clients range from early-stage companies to large multinationals, which the team assists with tailored advice under the varying restrictive covenant laws in the US and international jurisdictions. MoFo attorneys also train clients to design and implement information security programmes and policies to counter intentional or inadvertent data loss.

Recent wins for the team include securing a summary judgment victory in a $900m+ trade secret suit related to wearable medical device technologies.

Team overview:

“When she’s on the other side, you take it seriously,” says a peer of San-Francisco based Daralyn Durie, with another praising her “incredible creativity of issues in an attack”. Durie is highly regarded for her courtroom successes for both plaintiffs and defendants. Described by industry peers as a “first rate excellent trial lawyer and strategist” and an “amazing litigator”, Durie has particular expertise in life sciences as well as artificial intelligence (AI), and co-founded litigation boutique Durie Tangri which combined with Morrison Foerster in 2023.

A go-to contact at the firm for trade secrets matters, Palo Alto partner Kenneth Kuwayti has successfully brought and defended numerous trade secrets cases in state and federal court. His work highlights include a high-profile smartphone case that led to a jury verdict of over $900 million.

Also in Palo Alto, Bryan Wilson co-chairs the firm’s Trade Secrets Working Group, and has a successful track record in trade secrets and patent litigation as well as in arbitration proceedings. A thought leader on the topic, Wilson teaches a seminar in trade secret law at Stanford Law School and is a contributing editor to Trade Secrets (Law and Business 2016).

Notable departures from the team over the last few years include Michael Jacobs, a leading trial attorney whose practice focused on complex technology and life sciences litigation. Jacobs now works as an arbitrator and mediator at JAMS.

Clients:

Accenture, Adobe Systems, Booz Allen Hamilton, Hansen Medical, Konami Digital Entertainment