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Luke Bickel is an associate in the Labor & Employment Practice Group in the firm's San Diego (Del Mar) office.

Employers faced with an apparent trade secret misappropriation by former employees must decide what jurisdiction to bring suit in.  For an employer headquartered outside of California who employs California residents  working primarily in California, choice of law and forum selection clauses favoring states other than California may be ineffective against them unless they had counsel who negotiated the provisions on their behalves.  (Cal. Lab. Code § 925.)  A recent California Court of Appeal decision highlighted this point, and found that where a California employee is sued by the employer for trade secret misappropriation in a separate state based on an out-of-state forum selection clause, the employee may separately sue in California to void the provision, despite the ongoing litigation in a sister state (See LGCY Power, LLC v. The Superior Court,  75 Cal. App. 5th 844 (2022).)
Continue Reading California Labor Code Section 925: A Word of Caution for Out-of-State Employers of California Employees

A recent California Court of Appeals decision found nominal damages could be awarded for an employee’s breach of a non-disclosure agreement (“NDA”), even if no actual harm was done to the employer.  An award of nominal damages for breach of an NDA may be important for companies seeking to protect confidential information and trade secrets for two reasons: (1) this may give rise to an award of litigation costs, and (2) may also support a permanent injunction ruling preventing the former employee from any further possession or use of the protected information.
Continue Reading NDA: An Effective Way to Protect Confidential Information