Steptoe
Firm overview:
The team at Steptoe is “relentlessly responsive” and “highly skilled” in trade secrets, according to peers. The firm oversees trade secrets matters that span multiple continents and involve everything from additional IP claims, such as patent and copyright infringement, to corporate espionage. As such, Steptoe assembles multidisciplinary teams consisting of IP lawyers as well as criminal, investigations and commercial litigation attorneys, and compliance specialists.
A peer recommends the firm “without hesitation”, adding that “over the past five years, they have handled every variety of trade secret dispute for us, from emergency TROs and worldwide anti-suit/anti-enforcement injunctions to multi-jurisdictional discovery spanning the US and China.” Another industry counterpart says they have been “very impressed” with Steptoe’s knowledge of trade secrets, and that the team is “extremely responsive and easy to work with on a personal level”. A client praises the “extraordinary tenacity” shown by the practice in its handling of a decade-long litigation.
Examples of the firm’s representations include a $64 million trade secret victory for a small Prague-based company against Goodyear in Goodyear’s hometown, and its longstanding defence of Chinese company Hytera in its well-publicised trade secret dispute with Motorola.
Beyond litigation, clients rely on Steptoe for assistance with licensing trade secrets information, conducting trade secret and confidential information audits, preparing non-disclosure, confidentiality and non-compete agreements, and counselling on how to avoid receiving trade secrets when hiring key employees from competitors.
Team overview:
Attorneys in Steptoe’s IP practice are located in the firm’s Beijing, Chicago, Houston, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, DC offices.
“Steptoe partners visit China to discuss case strategies which shows dedication,” says a peer, indicating the global nature of the team’s work. Another peer notes the efficient and effective communication between Steptoe and its China-based clients.
First chair trial lawyer Boyd Cloern “stands among the most outstanding US trade secrets attorneys I have ever collaborated with,” says a peer, who praises Cloern’s “exceptional agility, razor-sharp logic, and unparalleled ability to distill complex legal challenges into clear, executable strategies … for companies facing existential intellectual property threats, he is the definitive go-to counsel to transform peril into triumph.” Another commends Cloern’s “aggressive yet strategic approach” that “consistently secures favourable outcomes that advance clients’ business objectives”.
Based in Washington, DC, Cloern has managed bet-the-company global litigation involving a range of technologies. Described by a peer as a “hands-on and detail-oriented” partner, Cloern represents Hytera in its high-stakes clash with Motorola, among other high-profile matters.
“Steptoe lawyers, especially Boyd, are highly professional and business-minded, always considering issues from the client’s perspective and advising them on the optimal choice,” says a satisfied GC.
Washington, DC associate Bill Toth also comes highly recommended for trade secrets work: “His command of trade secret and copyright law is encyclopedic, yet his work product remains surgically precise … opposing experts have conceded key points before deposition simply because his evidence is airtight.”
In Beijing, associate Grace Wang assists multinational and US companies navigate the Chinese and international market while complying with US laws. According to an industry counterpart, Wang “breaks down complex US litigation strategies into actionable technical instructions, ensuring that our legal and development teams are aligned and able to execute the plan the same day”. Wang and Toth are “brilliant litigators”, says a peer.
Another key contact for trade secrets work is accomplished trial lawyer Leah Quadrino, a partner in Washington, DC, who has tried jury and bench trials before federal and state courts and handled arbitration proceedings in many different forums. A peer who has worked with Quadrino and Cloern on trade secrets matters says they are “among the best in the business”.
“They understand the nuances of trade secret law and deftly handle incredibly complex issues of liability, damages, and the intersection of trade secret law with other areas of law.”
Key matters:
- Motorola v Hytera
Steptoe represents Hytera, which was sued by Motorola in 2017 for alleged trade secret misappropriation and copyright infringement. Motorola claims that a number of its employees moved to Hytera, taking thousands of documents and source code related to its digital mobile radio (DMR) technology, and then used some of that information in developing Hytera’s DMR products. Hytera admits that its employees committed this theft.
Motorola had sought $1.1 billion in damages but this was reduced over the course of proceedings to around $400 million, saving the client an overall total amount of around $700 million. In the most recent appeal, Steptoe won an appeal decision in the 7th Circuit reversing and remanding a $135 million copyright award.
The cases are Motorola Solutions Inc et al v Hytera Communications Corp Ltd, case numbers 22-2370 and 22-2413, in the US Circuit Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Boyd Cloern leads Steptoe’s team for Hytera, which also included Alice Loughran (partner, Washington, DC), Leah Quadrino (partner, Washington, DC), Bill Toth (associate, Washington, DC), Scott Richey (of counsel, Washington, DC), Grace Wang (associate, Beijing), and Kirsten Bickelman (associate, Washington, DC).
- United States of America v Hytera
The team is defending Hytera in a 21-count Department of Justice (DOJ) indictment charging Hytera with conspiracy to commit theft of trade secrets. The allegations are that between 2007 and 2010, Hytera recruited and hired engineers from Motorola Solutions who stole documents and source code. The DOJ seeks hundreds of millions of dollars in restitution for Motorola, and initially sought fines that would be a multiple of the restitution amount. The underlying civil matter is Motorola v Hytera et al.
In January 2025, just prior to trial, the team successfully obtained a dismissal of 20 out of the 21 criminal counts against Hytera, as well as the forfeiture claim, and reduced the maximum proposed fine from approximately $900 million down to $60 million. Hytera pled guilty to a single count of conspiracy to steal trade secrets. The amount of the fine (now capped at $60 million) and restitution will be set during sentencing, scheduled for November 2025.
The case is United States of America v Hytera Communications Corporation Ltd, US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, 20 CR 688-1. On Steptoe’s team are Boyd Cloern (partner, Washington, DC), Christopher Niewoehner (partner, Chicago), Rachel Cannon (partner, Chicago), Leah Quadrino (partner, Washington, DC), Jim Brochin (partner, New York), Scott Richey (of counsel, Washington, DC), Grace Wang (associate, Beijing) and Bill Toth (associate, Washington, DC).
- CODA Development et al v Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company et al
The team secured a $64 million jury verdict for an inventor and his company CODA Development against Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, where Goodyear is headquartered. After a seven-year battle, a panel of nine jurors found that Goodyear misappropriated several of Coda’s trade secrets involving self-inflating tire technology under the Ohio Uniform Trade Secrets Act. The jury found that Goodyear willfully and maliciously misappropriated Coda’s trade secrets after Coda disclosed them to Goodyear engineers pursuant to a non-disclosure agreement.
Later, a judge set aside the jury verdict and entered judgment for defendants, holding that the alleged trade secrets are indefinite as a matter of law and should not have been presented to the jury in the first place. Steptoe appealed that decision to the Federal Circuit, and Boyd Cloern delivered the oral argument in June of this year. No decision has been rendered.
The case is CODA Development s.r.o. et al v Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company et al, US District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, 5:15-cv-01572. Steptoe’s team: Boyd Cloern (partner, Washington, DC), Leah Quadrino (partner, Washington, DC), Alice Loughran (partner, Washington, DC), Daniel Gelwicks (associate, Chicago), Scott Richey (of counsel, Washington, DC), Katherine Cappaert (partner, Washington, DC), John Caracappa (partner, Washington, DC), Christopher Suarez (partner, Washington, DC), Geoffrey Warner (associate, Los Angeles), and Joseph Ecker (associate, Washington, DC).
Clients:
Arvinas, Coda Development, Hytera, Solaria Corporation and Complete Solaria
