2 October 2024Rankings Research

Global Trade Secrets 2024

WIPR Insights presents the Global Trade Secrets Rankings 2024. Following on from the inaugural GTS Rankings 2023, we acknowledge and celebrate the law firms and individuals who are the leading lights in trade secrets practice around the world.

This year, in the Hall of Fame category, highly esteemed Paul Hastings retiring partner Victoria Cundiff is entered alongside the venerable Jim Pooley who retains his crown from the 2023 rankings.

With increasingly rapid staff turnaround among tech firms in particular, confidential information and trade secrets are recognised as crucial to business success, and trade secrets as a practice is being taken much more seriously by clients and law firms alike.

A stand-out recent case includes the landmark $2 billion win for Appian in Pegasystems v Appian in 2022, which was reversed in July 2024. The parties are planning for a retrial.

And the biggest development in trade secrets regulation is the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) proposed ban on non-compete clauses for employees in the US, finalised in April 2024.

Immediately after, the US Chamber of Commerce (USCC) and a coalition of business organisations sued the FTC, branding the rule “unlawful” and a “blatant power grab”.

In August, a Texas district court granted a summary judgment in favour of the plaintiffs, and halted the ban. The commission is expected to appeal this decision.

As always with the Rankings, we would like to thank the marketing teams, lawyers and clients for their time preparing submissions, providing feedback on firms and individuals, or offering reflections on the research process.