Legal Analytics are used for planning, forecasting, and litigation strategy. The metrics in this report reveal strategic insights into trade secret litigation as the law evolves under the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA).
Lex Machina, a LexisNexis company, has released its Trade Secret Litigation Report based on ten years of Legal Analytics. The report reveals trends and strategic insights into the evolving practice of trade secret law in the wake of the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA).
“Trade secret litigation is a complex cross section of different practice areas where judges may approach cases more like patent, contracts, or tort litigation depending on their background,” said Rachel Bailey, Lex Machina’s trade secret data expert.
The report features federal district court data from 2010 to 2019, including a look at increased case filings due to the DTSA. The DTSA, which went into effect in May 2016, allows claimants to file directly in federal court when there is a connection between a trade secret and interstate or foreign commerce. The data in the report comes from the Lex Machina platform, which offers data-driven insights into case filings, and information on the most active judges, plaintiffs and firms, case timings, injunctive relief, case resolutions, findings and damages. For example, in 2019, 72% of all Trade Secret cases in federal district court had DTSA claims and over 80% of Trade Secret cases had contracts claims. Report highlights can be found below, and the entire report can be made available upon request.
“Protecting trade secrets and confidential information have become mission critical for businesses, particularly in the technology ecosystem. Hiring experienced trade secret counsel and using legal analytics to drive strategy are keys to success. Lex Machina is the source that I turn to. Their trade secret litigation data and report provide a competitive advantage for our clients,” said Mark Klapow, Partner at Crowell & Moring.
Lex Machina offers the most comprehensive, accurate and insightful analytics into all areas of federal law. In 2020, it celebrates ten years of introducing Legal Analytics® to the commercial legal market which gives a competitive edge to firms with data-driven insights. Legal Analytics may help practitioners determine which clients to pursue, what claims to include in a complaint, and when to settle.
“The report is a great introduction to trends in trade secret law, and how practitioners can dig into high-value information specific to their case on the platform,” said Carla Rydholm, Director of Product Management at Lex Machina.
Report Highlights
- Due to the DTSA, Trade Secret case filings increased 30% between 2015 and 2017 and have remained steady between 2017 and 2019.
- Insurance and financial services companies are the most active plaintiffs. Often these companies use a licensing or franchising system, then sue for trade secret misappropriation if materials are not returned at the end of the relationship.
- The most active law firms are known for employment law practices.
- The top plaintiffs’ firms of the decade were Littler Mendelson, Ogletree Deakins, and Seyfarth Shaw.
- In 2019, Fisher & Phillips was the top plaintiffs’ law firm with 33 cases, 30 of which had DTSA claims.
- The most active plaintiff in 2019 was DiscoverOrg Data LLC, which offers sales intelligence software and sued parties who gained unauthorized access to its database.
- Injunctions are incredibly important in trade secret law to stop the flow of information. This practice area has a large number of injunctions granted by consent judgment.
- In the last decade, over 1,000 cases had permanent injunctions granted by consent.
- In 2019, courts awarded damages in fewer Trade Secret cases than in 2018 but a larger amount of money overall.
Follow this link to request a copy of the full report: https://bit.ly/TradeSecretReport
About Lex Machina
Lex Machina’s award-winning Legal Analytics® platform fundamentally changes how companies and law firms compete in the business and practice of law. The company provides strategic insights on judges, lawyers, law firms, parties, and other critical information across 15 federal practice areas and a rapidly increasing number of state courts. This allows law firms and companies to predict the behaviors and outcomes that different legal strategies will produce, enabling them to win cases and close business.
Lex Machina Legal Analytics® was named “Best Legal Analytics” (The Recorder, 2014, 2015, 2016), “Best New Product of the Year” (American Association of Law Libraries, 2015), a “Legal A.I. Leader” (The National Law Journal, 2018), “Best Decision Management Solution” (AI Breakthrough Awards, 2019), and “Disruptor of the Year” (Changing Lawyer Awards, 2019). Based in Silicon Valley, Lex Machina is part of LexisNexis, a leading global provider of legal, regulatory and business information and analytics. For more information, please visit http://www.lexmachina.com.
Join the conversation!