{"id":80,"date":"2019-01-02T01:29:39","date_gmt":"2019-01-02T01:29:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bow.tailfishdev-androvett.com\/?page_id=80"},"modified":"2021-06-30T18:20:24","modified_gmt":"2021-06-30T23:20:24","slug":"trade-secrets-noncompetes-and-executive-compensation","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bowslaw.com\/practice-areas\/trade-secrets-noncompetes-and-executive-compensation\/","title":{"rendered":"Trade Secrets, Noncompetes, and Executive Compensation"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” css=”.vc_custom_1559178476990{background-color: #e7e7e7 !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text][\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” css=”.vc_custom_1549561740925{background-color: #e7e7e7 !important;}”][vc_column width=”3\/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1559254315310{padding-right: 48px !important;}”][vc_column_text]We represent employers and employees in cases involving accusations of theft of trade secrets as well as violating covenants not to compete and not to solicit. These cases are a good fit for us because they require speed: fast action in filing or opposing, temporary restraining orders, expedited discovery, and temporary injunctions.<\/p>\n

Bissinger, Oshman, Williams & Strasburger LLP routinely assists executives who find themselves in the middle of employment and business-related disputes. Often, the executives will have been mistreated by management. They may have a claim to severance pay, stock options, or a bonus, and their employer, for one reason or another, has decided not to pay out. As in other areas of our practice, we aim for swift resolution to get you the compensation you are owed.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/4″][vc_column_text el_class=”desktop desktoponly”]\n\n\n

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Practice Areas<\/a><\/h2>\n Corporate Fiduciary and Securities<\/a>\n Energy and Technology<\/a>\n\t\t Commercial Real Estate, Finance, and Banking<\/a>\n Trade Secrets, Noncompetes, and Executive Compensation<\/a>\n\t\t Tort and Policyholder<\/a>\n Construction<\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n<\/div>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Representative Experience<\/h2>\n
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Dismissal of Theft of Trade Secrets and Tortious Interference Claims<\/h3>\n

In a suit in Cameron County, Texas, we defended an oil trading firm against its competitor\u2019s claims of tortious interference and theft of trade secrets. The plaintiff dismissed the case after we filed our Motion to Dismiss under the Texas Anti-SLAPP statute.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div> \n\t\t\n

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Successful Prosecution of Large Trade-Secret and Fiduciary Duty Claim Against Former Senior Executive and New Employer<\/h3>\n

Represented major international engineering company in prosecution of trade-secrets and fiduciary-duty claims against former senior executive and that employee\u2019s new employer. Our client\u2019s former executive acquired numerous trade secrets and corporate confidences and disclosed them to new employer as he negotiated favorable compensation package with new employer. After obtaining temporary restraining order, temporary injunction, fast-track trial setting, six months of discovery, and favorable rulings denying defendants\u2019 motions for summary judgment, case settled confidentially the weekend before jury selection. Case involved numerous complex transactions and acts of theft, including international contract bids, massive digital downloads, and highly sensitive strategic corporate transactions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div> \n\t\t\n

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Successful Defense of Former Edward Jones Brokers Accused of Violating Nonsolicitation Agreements (Edward Jones v. Housden and others)<\/h3>\n

We have defended numerous former brokers of Edward Jones & Co., L.P. in cases accusing those brokers of \u201cpirating\u201d customers or otherwise violating their covenants not to solicit. In reality, the customers followed the brokers because they viewed the relationship was with the advisor, not Edward Jones. For example, former Edward Jones advisor Melanie Housden<\/span><\/a> obtained a release from Edward Jones\u2019s claims without having to pay a dime of consideration while keeping her right to speak out. Melanie\u2019s story has received substantial coverage in the wealth-management industry, here<\/span><\/a>, here<\/span><\/a>, here<\/span>,<\/a> and here<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div> \n\t\t\n

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Winning Jury Verdict for Insurance Brokerage General Agent on Oral Contract<\/h3>\n

We represented the plaintiff, an insurance brokerage agent, who had underwritten roughly $212,000,000 in life insurance that had generated commissions of $15,000,000. The defendant seller of the policies lacked the skills or the contacts to conduct the underwriting, so he asked our client to do the work, promising to pay him 5% of the commissions, or $750,000. The agreement was oral, but later documentation supported its existence, as well as our client\u2019s prior course of dealing on other transactions in which the defendant seller had paid 5%.<\/p>\n

Unbeknownst to our client, however, the defendant seller had promised half of the commissions to two other agents as a way of settling an unrelated dispute. We filed suit and after a week of trial, the jury found for our client all unpaid commissions ($625,000 of the $750,000), validating our client\u2019s 5% oral contract as well as his claims for fraud, conversion, and breach of fiduciary duty. Moreover, the jury found that we had proven fraud by clear and convincing evidence, entitling our client to punitive damages. The court called the defendant back to trial for the punitive damages phase the same day, but before that happened, the case settled favorably for our client.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div> \n\t\t\n

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Winning Arbitration Award of Severance for Executive Terminated Without Cause<\/h3>\n

Obtained award for contractual severance plus all attorney\u2019s fees and arbitration costs for oil-and-gas executive terminated without cause. Employer had terminated executive without cause in oral conversation, but denied that conversation and argued in the final arbitration hearing that any termination without cause had to be in writing; employer argued that employee made up the oral termination and abandoned his job. However, executive had turned in his keys, swipe card, and access cards; collected personal items; and said goodbye to coworkers. After two days of final hearing, the arbitrator rejected employer\u2019s contentions, granting full relief<\/span><\/a> on executive\u2019s contractual claims.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div> \n\t\t\n

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Judgment Against Competitor that Claimed Theft of Trade Secrets<\/h3>\n

We represented non-destructive testing and inspection company against a competitor\u2019s claim of tortious interference and theft of trade secrets. This case involved a novel issue of federal jurisdiction over disputes related to foreign arbitration agreements under the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards. We obtained dismissal of all of the competitor\u2019s claims. In a subsequent suit against the same competitor, we obtained summary judgment against competitor in Judge Sim Lake\u2019s court awarding $2.1 million in damages.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div> \n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n<\/div>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” css=”.vc_custom_1559584599217{background-color: #eeeeee !important;}” el_class=”mobile mobileonly”][vc_column][vc_column_text]\n\n\n

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Practice Areas<\/a><\/h2>\n Corporate Fiduciary and Securities<\/a>\n Energy and Technology<\/a>\n\t\t Commercial Real Estate, Finance, and Banking<\/a>\n Trade Secrets, Noncompetes, and Executive Compensation<\/a>\n\t\t Tort and Policyholder<\/a>\n Construction<\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n<\/div>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” css=”.vc_custom_1559178476990{background-color: #e7e7e7 !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text][\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” css=”.vc_custom_1549561740925{background-color: #e7e7e7 !important;}”][vc_column width=”3\/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1559254315310{padding-right: 48px !important;}”][vc_column_text]We represent employers and employees in cases involving accusations of theft of trade secrets as well as violating covenants not to compete and not to solicit. These cases are a good fit for us because they require speed: fast action in filing or… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":52,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-practice-areas.php","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bowslaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/80"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bowslaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bowslaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bowslaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bowslaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bowslaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/80\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bowslaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/52"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bowslaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}