Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Firm overview:
Wilson Sonsini “belongs in the top…they are a brilliant firm with brilliant lawyers”, a peer concedes. Widely regarded as a pioneer in the evolution of modern trade secrets law, Wilson Sonsini represents clients on both sides of trade secret and employee mobility disputes and has extensive experience litigating these matters in state and federal courts throughout the US. Its attorneys are seasoned advocates before trial courts, juries, and appellate bodies, bringing a deep understanding of how trade secrets issues play out across different forums.
Beyond litigation, Wilson Sonsini is frequently engaged to advise on trade secrets risk in the context of corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, venture capital and private equity investments, and collaborative research and development arrangements. The team assists clients with identifying, valuing, and protecting proprietary information as part of transaction diligence and post-closing integration.
The firm also takes a proactive approach to trade secrets protection, offering employee education programmes that outline core legal principles and best practices, conducting internal investigations in response to potential misappropriation, and closely monitoring developments in trade secrets jurisprudence nationwide.
Team overview:
A trade secrets industry peer has high praise for Wilson Sonsini’s team, noting that their quality is “inspirational”, such as that of “consummate professional” Charles Tait Graves.
Graves is widely regarded as a leading authority on trade secrets. In addition to his litigation practice, he has spent 15 years teaching trade secrets law at UC Law, San Francisco, and brings nearly 25 years of experience advising and representing clients in complex trade secrets disputes throughout Silicon Valley and across the US.
The team also saw a significant change with the departure of former partner Amy Candido, who exited Wilson Sonsini in February 2025 to take on the role of head of IP litigation at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
Key matters:
- Google: Complete defence verdict in $1.3 billion lawsuit
In June 2025, Wilson Sonsini secured a complete defence verdict from a Los Angeles jury in ReactX v Google. The plaintiff had sought $1.3 billion in damages, alleging that Google breached a series of contracts by misusing its confidential technology to build two of Google’s most successful digital advertising platforms.
ReactX originally brought the case for trade secret misappropriation, but voluntarily dismissed this cause of action two weeks before trial. The court further trimmed ReactX’s lawsuit in response to motions brought by Wilson Sonsini, and after a six-week trial, the jury vindicated Google on ReactX’s remaining cause of action for breach of contract.
The case is ReactX LLC v Google LLC (Superior Court of Los Angeles County). Wilson Sonsini’s team was led by San Francisco partners Colleen Bal, John Flynn, Tait Graves, Josh Baskin, and New York partner Lucy Yen.
- Inhibrx Biosciences: Victory in trade secrets trial
A Delaware jury delivered a favourable verdict in November 2024 for Wilson Sonsini clients Inhibrx Biosciences and its co-founder in a trade secrets misappropriation trial.
The co-founder, an expert witness in an international arbitration dispute, was sued along with Inhibrx by the losing party in that arbitration, which alleged misappropriation of immuno-oncology antibody trade secrets and sought over $450 million in damages.
The jury concluded that the information the co-founder reviewed did not qualify as trade secrets, had not been obtained through improper means, and that neither he nor Inhibrx had used that information. The plaintiff was awarded $0 in damages.
Wilson Sonsini’s trial team included Luis Li (partner, Los Angeles), Eric Tuttle (partner, Los Angeles), Matthew Reed (partner, Palo Alto), Christopher Mays (of counsel, Palo Alto), Jamie Otto (associate, Los Angeles), Kevin Heiner (associate, Salt Lake City), and Nick Guenther (associate, Palo Alto).
Clients:
Google, Inhibrx Biosciences
