With unemployment levels reaching a new high during the global pandemic, courts across the country have become increasingly reluctant to enforce non-compete agreements in employment contracts. As an example, a recent district court case, Robert Garcia v. USA Industries, Inc., demonstrates what may be a shift in Texas’ formerly lenient approach to non-competes. There, the court granted the plaintiff’s request for a temporary restraining order against the non-compete clause in his severance agreement, finding not…

The 2021 edition of The Legal 500 United States recommends Seyfarth Shaw’s Trade Secrets group as one of the best in the country. Nationally, for the sixth consecutive year, our Trade Secrets practice earned Top Tier. Based on feedback from corporate counsel, Seyfarth partners Michael Wexler, Robert Milligan, and Kate Perrelli are ranked in the editorial’s “Leading Lawyers,” Joshua Salinas is ranked in the editorial’s “Rising Starts,” and Erik Weibust and Dawn Mertineit were also…

Wednesday, June 22, 2021 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Eastern 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Central 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Mountain 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Pacific REGISTER HERE In this fourth installment of our 2021 Trade Secrets Webinar Series, our team will cover recent legal developments in Texas trade secret and non-compete law and how it is similar to and diverse from other jurisdictions. The webinar will also cover how these latest developments…

In a long-awaited decision, the Supreme Court resolved a circuit split about whether an individual with access to a computer system violates the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) by accessing information for an improper purpose. By a 6-3 decision authored by Justice Barrett, the Court held that an individual does not “exceed authorized access” within the meaning of the CFAA by misusing access to obtain information that is otherwise available to that person.…

On June 2, 2021, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EST, Seyfarth partner Erik Weibust will take part in a panel discussion for Thomson Reuters’ West LegalEdCenter on the ethical issues concerning non-competes, including: What the lawyer exemption under Rule 5.6 of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct really means and how the confidentiality rules (Rule 1.6) and successive representation rules (Rule 1.9) affect the practical impact of Rule 5.6. Traps for the unwary lawyer…