Munger, Tolles & Olson’s Carolyn Hoecker Luedtke Speaks with IAM on Trial Considerations for Trade Secret Theft Cases
Munger, Tolles & Olson partner Carolyn Hoecker Luedtke was recently featured in a Q&A with IAM, a platform focused on IP value creation and IP as a key business asset. In the article, Ms. Luedtke shares her insights on litigating trade secret theft cases and discusses the importance of understanding the technology at issue, the role of experts and the use of storytelling to convey complex information to a jury.
On her best tip to in-house counsel, Ms. Luedtke said: “Having a really good internal trade secret protection plan is important—a system that allows for red flags if something is being taken and you can give that evidence to the lawyers. For example, having data loss prevention software, which tracks if somebody is uploading documents to the cloud or downloading them to removable storage devices. With software and a vigilant information security team at a client, they can catch information as it is being exfiltrated and let the lawyers help them retrieve it before it is disseminated and used.”
Ms. Luedtke also noted that “having in-house lawyers who really know their business and their products makes our job easier. Those clients can help us as outsiders translate their complicated business to a lay person. That is very important. Often, the in-house lawyers are the best team members for really defining what the trade secret is and what makes it valuable. We really rely on in-house counsel to play that role and when we have strong in-house counsel it makes our lives as outside counsel so much easier.”
Read the full Q&A with IAM. (Subscription may be required)
About Munger, Tolles & Olson’s Trade Secret and Employee Mobility Practice
MTO’s practice handles both high-stakes litigation and day-to-day counseling to help clients protect their trade secrets from disclosure, protect themselves from accusations of misappropriation, onboard employees moving between competitors and safeguard intellectual property during merger and acquisition negotiations, due diligence efforts and joint venture talks.
Learn more about how we protect clients’ intellectual property in complex matters.