The competitive advantage you built — defended when it walks out the door.
Where proprietary advantage becomes a courtroom.
DTSA + UTSA
Federal & State Trade Secret Statutes
The legal framework
Trade secret disputes move faster than almost any other commercial litigation. Under the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA), a trade secret owner can file directly in federal court and seek an ex parte seizure order. Most states have adopted a version of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA), creating parallel state-law remedies. We prosecute and defend these claims — and we counsel companies on the secrecy measures, restrictive covenants, and departure protocols that keep disputes from becoming losses before the first motion is filed.
Governing Law
Federal jurisdiction under 18 U.S.C. § 1836 (DTSA) alongside state UTSA counterparts. We evaluate both fora at intake and file where the remedy and venue are strongest.
Emergency Remedies
Ex parte seizure (DTSA § 1836(b)(2)(A)(ii)) and preliminary injunctions are available where irreparable harm is shown. We prepare the secrecy-measures record and irreparable-harm showing before the motion drops.
Restrictive Covenants
Non-compete and non-solicit enforceability varies sharply by state — California (Bus. & Prof. Code § 16600), Georgia (O.C.G.A. § 13-6-20.1 through 13-6-5.1), Tennessee (reasonableness test), Texas (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code § 15.50). We draft and litigate to the governing jurisdiction.
Employee Mobility
We defend departing employees against overbroad restrictive covenants and prosecute claims where a competitor directs misappropriation. The "inevitable disclosure" doctrine is applied selectively — we know where courts accept it and where they do not.
What we handle
Trade Secret Misappropriation
Prosecuting and defending claims of acquisition, use, or disclosure of trade secrets under the DTSA and state UTSA statutes. Claims framed around reasonable secrecy measures, improper means, and actual or threatened disclosure.
Non-Compete & Restrictive Covenant Litigation
Enforcing and defending non-compete, non-solicit, and non-disclosure agreements. We draft covenants designed to survive scrutiny and litigate challenges to overbroad restraints under the governing state standard.
Employee Departure & Raiding
Coordinating departure responses — preserving evidence, send cessation letters, forensic device and email review — and pursuing claims against competitors who direct or induce misappropriation.
Secrecy Measures & Protection Programs
Auditing confidentiality controls, NDAs, access controls, and exit protocols. The secrecy-measures record is decisive in misappropriation litigation; we help build it before litigation forces the issue.
TRO & Preliminary Injunction Practice
Rapid-turnaround emergency motions — seizure orders under the DTSA, preliminary injunctions, and expedited discovery — for matters where delay equals loss.
Trade Secret Defense
Defending against overbroad or improperly pleaded misappropriation claims — challenging the existence of a trade secret, the reasonableness of secrecy measures, and the independence of the accused product or process.
Commercial Litigation
Trade secret cases are won by the party who documented the secret and the secrecy first. The litigation is almost always a referendum on what happened before anyone hired a lawyer.
— Matthew J. Evans, Shareholder
How we work
Shareholder-led from intake. Counsel that moves as fast as the matter requires — and prepares for the resolution that may never require a courtroom.
Triage & TRO Assessment
Within hours of intake, we assess whether emergency injunctive relief is available and what evidence must be preserved immediately. Trade secret litigation rewards the side that acts first.
Trade Secret Identification
We define the trade secrets with specificity — courts reject vague or overbroad definitions. Mapping the secrecy measures and the improper-means record before discovery prevents the case from collapsing at summary judgment.
Discovery & Forensics
Expedited device forensics, email and cloud-account review, and targeted depositions of departed employees and their new employer. We coordinate with forensic vendors and protect privilege throughout.
Trial & Resolution
When the injunction record is strong, cases resolve. When they do not, we try misappropriation cases to verdict — with damages models (unjust enrichment, actual loss, reasonable royalty) calibrated to the statute.
Representative results
Outcomes in this area. Every result depends on its facts; past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
14 days
Secured a preliminary injunction in federal court against a departed executive and his new employer, enjoining use of a proprietary pricing model and customer list — with expedited forensic discovery completed in under two weeks.
U.S. District Court · 2025
$0
Defended a technology company against misappropriation claims asserting $5M in damages; established independent development of the accused process and defeated the "reasonable secrecy measures" element at summary judgment.
State Court · 2024
90 days
Resolved a restrictive-covenant dispute through a negotiated departure protocol and tapered non-solicit — preserving the employee's mobility while protecting the former employer's legitimate interests, without litigation.
Confidential · 2026
Matthew J. Evans
Shareholder Knoxville
Trial lawyer for manufacturers and Fortune 100 companies in complex commercial, product liability, and MDL litigation.
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Shareholder-led from the first call. We'll assess the situation, frame the options, and tell you what we'd do — straight.