Companies often face threats to their core - and often irreplaceable - assets: their intellectual property, trade secrets, client and customer relationships, and their significant investment in human capital. In these instances, clients call upon Waller's interdisciplinary team to assist with matters related to employment, IP, trade secrets, executive compensation and litigation.

We work with clients throughout the country regarding the hiring and termination of employees with access to confidential information. When matters must be litigated, our attorneys have broad and deep experience securing and defending applications for injunctive relief in many jurisdictions and have represented clients whose non-compete interests implicate international issues. Our nimble team of experienced litigators can quickly drop into any case to protect the client's interests and intellectual property assets.

Training and Compliance

Employers regularly engage Waller to guide them through the entire employment lifecycle - from hiring to performance evaluations to termination. We provide training and counseling on the creation and updating of:

• Employment applications
• Agreements
• Offer letters
• Policies
• Company assets protection plans
• Information security protocols

Non-Competes

Employers can be stung by departing employees who circulate trade secrets and other confidential information by simply pressing "send" on their way out the door. Threats emerge as well from new hires who may be subject to restrictive covenants that limit where and how they may perform their roles. Often these issues do not surface until after the new employer receives a "cease and desist" letter informing them of obligations of which they may not have even been aware. These events involve complex interdisciplinary areas of the law regarding employment, IP, trade secrets, executive compensation and litigation. Waller's interdisciplinary team works with clients to defend and enforce non-compete lawsuits, interference claims and employee raiding matters.

Non-Disclosure Agreements

Waller attorneys assist clients in the preparation of non-disclosure agreements in a wide variety of contexts, including:

• Consulting arrangements
• Proposed M&A transactions
• Vendor arrangements (including distribution and franchising)
• Manufacturing agreements

Trade Secret Programs

We assist clients in the development and implementation of programs to keep confidential the client's trade secrets and the trade secrets of others entrusted to our clients. Trade secret protection can be a vital aspect of intellectual property protection for a client, especially when patent or copyright protections are either unavailable or inadequate. Able to render complex issues into manageable data, our attorneys advise clients of the appropriateness of trade secret protection, provide counsel regarding procedures and safeguards, and litigate disputes involving the theft or misappropriation of trade secrets. We investigate the illegal access of our clients' computer networks, using the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and state law, to ascertain the identities of the perpetrators and seek redress.