Foley's Trial Team Featured Following Landmark Victory in Texas Trade Secret Case

Foley & Lardner LLP’s landmark appellate victory in a Texas trade secrets case is featured in Texas Lawyer and The Texas Lawbook.

“The decision provides a road map for future trade secret cases in Texas, addressing how courts should handle damages causation standards and evidence requirements,” Texas Lawyer writes, highlighting how it addressed several issues of first impression under the Texas Uniform Trade Secrets Act (TUTSA).

Notably, the appellate court ruled that TUTSA preempts conspiracy claims tied to alleged trade secret misappropriation. The decision also clarified how juries should be instructed on breach of fiduciary duty in employment cases and provided important guidance on the evidentiary standard for proving lost profits under Texas law.

“Now we have some clarity on what the jury charge is supposed to look like in an employee mobility trade secrets case,” partner Rachel Powitzky Steely, who led Foley’s all-female trial team, told The Texas Lawbook. “In this case, we had mountains of paper on whether or not there was preemption and what the jury charge looks like. [Judges are] going to be able to streamline cases in the future, which benefits all of us.”

“This case will change the complexion of how trade-secret employee-raiding cases are litigated in Texas,” Steely explained in Texas Lawyer. “It’s much-needed guidance.”

Assessing the broader legal landscape in Texas, Steely noted companies are relying more upon trade secret claims rather than noncompete agreements to guard against employee departures.

“What we have seen in the last few years in employee departure litigation are plaintiff companies moving away from noncompetes because they may be disfavored and they’re going into trade secret and breach of fiduciary duty litigation,” she added.

To learn more about the case, click here.