The legal profession reigns as the primary protector of client choice. No other profession — including doctors and accountants — protect the client’s choice of advisor as rigorously as legal governing bodies, with restrictive covenants generally unenforceable against members of the bar. Nonetheless, law firms have taken a page out of their own clients’ playbooks by litigating claims of trade secret theft against former attorneys and legal management in an effort they claim is necessary to preserve fair competition. The lawyers and legal management who are sued cry foul, claiming the lawsuits are anti-competitive and circumvent legal ethics rules. The result typically allows firms to sideline lawyers and legal management, at least temporarily, until the dust settles.
Two cases concerning law firms and trade secret theft have recently grabbed headlines. One of these cases was brought by a national labor and employment boutique firm, and it alleges that a former attorney wrongfully downloaded a large amount of client information to an external Drop Box after resigning. The attorney, who resides in California and was expected to move to Texas in 2024, claims the firm lacks personal jurisdiction and merely filed suit in Texas to make it difficult and expensive for her to defend herself.
A second high-profile case was filed in New York by a large international law firm against its former Chief Operating Officer (COO). The COO...
Abbott Laboratories agreed to pay $385 million to settle U.S. allegations related to poor manufacturing practices at two facilities, including one involving an investigation of a contaminated faci...