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United States • Intellectual property
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Trade secrets (litigation and non-contentious matters)

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Steptoe LLP

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Steptoe LLP is experienced in representing its portfolio of well-known clients in complex cases of trade secret misappropriation and contract breach, in both domestic and cross-jurisdictional contexts. The cases the team works on span a range of sectors, from energy, to fashion, to real estate. The team is jointly headed up by three partners all equipped to handle the range of contentious and non-contentious trade secret matters: John Caracappa, Jay Nuttall and Boyd Cloern . Caracappa and Cloern work from the Washington DC office, while Nuttall is based in Chicago. Leah Quadrino is another key practitioner in DC, with broad IP expertise and experience advising in various sectors.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Accolades

Client satisfaction

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘A strong team with competence across disciplines under the leadership of Boyd Cloern, who engages with unique intensity on both legal and technical issues.’

  • ‘Boyd Cloern, practice leader in the Washington DC IP practice, is an extraordinarily hands-on partner. His deep engagement in both the legal and technical aspects of the matters he handles enables the kind of nimble and substantive response to litigation developments that provides an essential edge.’

  • ‘Steptoe has first-class thinkers who combine a thorough understanding of the ins and outs of trade secret law with great trial experience. They can and do try cases.’

  • ‘Boyd Cloern and Leah Quadrino really understand trade secret law, and they are always thinking how to present the facts in the most favorable way in a trial.'

  • 'Boyd and Leah combine their knowledge of the law with a very practical understanding of how the facts will play out.’

  • ‘The unique things for Steptoe's trade secret team are that they are very professional in the field; they know the client well and consider from the client's side; and they coordinate their staff in a timely and proper manner.'

Key clients

  • Hytera US Inc.
  • Coda Development
  • Solaria Corporation
  • Westrock Co.
  • Victory Packaging, L.P.
  • Comercializadora Victory S. de R.L. de C.V.
  • Jesse Jackson et al.
  • Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.
  • Revlon
  • L2 Partners, LLC

Work highlights

Advised Hytera on a 7th Circuit appeal in which they challenged a trade secret trial verdict exceeding $500m.
Defending Hytera in a Department of Justice criminal trial related to claims by Motorola that Hytera stole their trade secrets for two-way radios.
Secured a $64m jury verdict for an inventor and his company Coda Development against Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company in Akron, Ohio in a trade secret theft matter involving self-inflating tires.

Practice head

John Caracappa; Jay Nuttall; Boyd Cloern

Other key lawyers

Katherine Cappaert; Leah Quadrino; Bill Toth; Claudia Wilson Frost