Protecting Your Business Before, During and After “Bet the Company” Litigation

Strategic Decision Making: Using Lessons From Litigation As Part Of Your Risk/Reward Analysis (Jeffrey Newman)
As part of analyzing whether and how to address a threat of litigation, companies may undertake an analysis of the risks and rewards/costs and benefits of the paths to which they are presented. In this segment, we will discuss the fundamentals of such an analysis, and how one can use the litigation experience as a part of a well-founded evaluation.

Analyzing The Substantive Law: Trade Secrets, Protection And Pitfalls (Scott Stimpson)
Trade secrets can be a company’s “crown jewel,” or can create substantial problems for the unwary. Using the many issues raised in our hypothetical as a starting point, our panel will provide an overview of the state of trade secrets law (including the Defend Trade Secrets Act), offer guidance regarding how to protect trade secrets, and discuss how to avoid having a new hire result in claims of trade secret misappropriation.

Selected Aspects Of The Trial Of A Business Litigation Case (Scott Stimpson)
Though the reality is that most lawsuits settle, showing preparedness and a willingness to go to trial is imperative for counsel and clients in contentious, bet-the-company business disputes. Using the trade secret elements from the hypothetical presented at the beginning of our Program, experienced trial counsel working with a leading jury researcher have presented opening statements, the cross-examination of a witness, and closing arguments to a mock jury. In this segment, the trial team will present the results of that research. In addition to offering an eye into the jury’s evaluation and guidance about what did (and did not) work, you and your colleagues will have an opportunity to compare your reactions to aspects of this mini-trial to that of our jury, to discern just how predictable (or unpredictable) jury trials can be.