As regular readers of this blog know, I focus on providing content and rarely suggest educational programs to attend. However, given that CLE programs are still remote and can be hard to identify, I thought I’d take a moment to call out a few upcoming, content-rich programs that I and leading practitioners, in-house counsel, experts, and scholars from around the country are participating in. (Links to additional information about the programs, including registration information, are in the program titles.)
In order of timing (note the time zones), the programs are:
“Noncompetes and Restrictive Covenants 2021: What Every Lawyer, Human Resources Professional, and Key Strategic Decisionmaker Should Know,” taking place online on September 20, 2021, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET. This is a full-day program (the only one of its kind), offering an in-depth look at noncompete laws and issues nationally. The program is described as follows:
- Understand the basics of noncompete agreements
- Discover how to use state of the art computer forensics to bolster your case for enforcement, and what it means for the defense
- Find out advanced practices for seeking and defending against temporary restraining orders, preliminary injunctions, and related preliminary orders
- Learn what the protectable business interest are and how to protect them, particularly with a remote workforce and during employee departures and on-boarding
- Get the latest legislative developments regarding noncompete agreements and best practices from practitioners
- Gain insight into the practical aspects of enforcing noncompetes
- Learn how to spot and avoid the ethical traps common in restrictive covenants matters
“Trade Secrets Protection, Enforcement, and Litigation-East Coast,” taking place on line on October 5, 2021, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET, the program will provide a complete update on current developments and trends involving the following:
- Remote workforce: risks & protective measures
- China Initiatives
- Restrictive covenants, noncompetes under threat
- DOJ & SEC cybercrime initiatives and connection to recent trade secret theft prosecutions
- Determining the best forum for civil enforcement — federal court under DTSA, state court, arbitration, or ITC
- Key takeaways from recent significant decisions
- Extraterritorial reach of the DTSA and ITC
- Virtual proceedings and pandemic “new normal” protocols
“The Future of Noncompetes and What it Means for the Protection of Your Workforce and Trade Secrets: Part 1,” taking place online (audio only) on October 7, 2021, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET. In this first part of a three-part series, my partner, Nicole Daly, will moderate a panel consisting of Peter Steinmeyer, Erik Weibust, and me, as we discuss the increasing judicial and legislative scrutiny of noncompetes and what you need to know and do now. Topics to be covered include:
- Alternatives to traditional noncompetes, such as nonsolicitation clauses, garden leave provisions, and forfeiture for competition provisions
- Best practices for multistate employers with respect to noncompetition agreements;
- Best practices for protecting trade secrets
“Advanced Trade Secrets 2021: New Risks, New Challenges, New Ideas,” taking place online on October 13, 2021, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PT, is a day-long, in-depth discussion of key issues in trade secret law. The program is described as follows:
- What courts, legislatures, businesses, and economic experts are thinking and doing about trade secrets issues in the U.S. and abroad — learn how some of the “old rules” are being tweaked
- What can go wrong: how inside and outside counsel can assess and manage the first days of a trade secret dispute
- What can go right: leveraging trade secrets to build and enhance enterprise value Seeing around corners: emerging trade secret issues in mergers and acquisitions and new industries as we return to work
- Why you may need to think about criminal prosecution when litigating civil trade secret cases
- Learning from the “big cases” — working with multiple defendants, dealing with the press, and more
- How much is a claim of misappropriation worth?
“Restrictions on Noncompetes: New FTC Regs,” taking place online on October 14, 2021, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET. The program will cover:
- The history of noncompete enforcement
- President Biden’s “Promoting Competition in the American Economy” Executive Order “encouraging” the FTC to ban or limit “unfair” noncompetes
- Possible FTC regulations, including what the FTC has stated or implied regarding proposed rulemaking
- The future of noncompete beyond wage and hour workers
- Best practices for employers seeking to protect their legitimate business interests
“Evaluating the Pros, Cons, and Necessity of Noncompetes and Other Restrictive Covenants,” taking place online on October 21, 2021 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET. The program will cover:
- The policy, pros, and cons of noncompetes
- The state of legislative activity and public opinion
- The state of the academic research on noncompetes
- What is likely to happen at state and federal levels
- How to plan for anticipated changes, including up to a complete ban on noncompetes
“Trade Secret Summit,” taking place in person (we hope) on November 8 and 9, 2021 at the headquarters of SolarWinds in Austin, Texas. The topics are expected to include:
- Expert Advice: Practical tips for working with experts in a trade secret case
- Federal Involvement and Enforcement: Biden’s Executive Order and other federal government regulation and enforcement.
- What’s New in Noncompetes and Trade Secrets?: State law updates to noncompete and trade secrets law (including CA).
- Advanced Trade Secrets Topics (Part 1): Defining “ownership” of a trade secret or non-patented inventions, including discussion of BioRad-Labs, Inc. v. 10 Genomics Inc., 967 F. 3d 1352 (2020); distinguishing between “confidential information” and “trade secrets.”
- Advanced Trade Secrets Topics (Part 2): Identifying trade secrets in litigation.
- Protecting Trade Secrets in a post-COVID-19 World: Trends, traps, and other hot topics for protecting trade secrets in the remote work environment.
- Don’t Mess with Texas Trade Secrets: Primer on Texas trade secrets and noncompete law plus protecting trade secrets in the oil, gas, and energy industries.
- Trade Secrets and Noncompetes For Lawyers: Lawyers can misappropriate trade secrets and breach noncompetes, too.
I hope you can come and learn.