Lex Machina is proud to release its 2021 Trade Secret Litigation Report, which examines Trade Secret litigation trends in federal district court. This report focuses on the five-year period from 2016 to 2020 and includes analysis of emerging trends in cases filed under the DTSA, injunctions, and the impact of COVID-19.

Key Trends and Highlights:

  • Trade Secret case filings have remained steady since 2017, even through the pandemic.
  • As 72.9% of Trade Secret cases in 2020 and 72.5% of cases in 2019 included claims under the DTSA, Trade Secret case filings may have reached a new normal.
  • The Central District of California heard the highest number of Trade Secret cases (397 cases or 5.9% of the total case count) from 2016 to 2020.
  • Judge Mazzant from the Eastern District of Texas presided over the highest number of Trade Secret cases (50 cases) from 2016 to 2020.
  • The most active plaintiff in the period from 2016 to 2020 was Allstate Insurance Company with 31, while Ahern Rentals, Inc. was the most active plaintiff in 2020 with 24 cases, which were part of a multidistrict litigation group of cases.
  • The two most active plaintiffs’ law firms in the period from 2016 to 2020 were Littler Mendelson with 129 cases and Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart with 128 cases, while Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani was the most active plaintiffs’ law firm in 2020 with 41 cases.
  • The most active defendants’ law firm in the period from 2016 to 2020 was Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart with 64 cases, while Baker McKenzie was the most active defendants’ law firm in 2020 with 21 cases.
  • Over the five-year period from 2016 to 2020, the majority of Trade Secret cases were resolved by settlement (67% of cases) or on procedural grounds (16% of cases).
  • In 2020, courts awarded a larger amount of damages in the same number of Trade Secret cases as in 2019. For cases terminating in the last five years, Other/Mixed Damage Types had the highest total damages with $606 million awarded in 28 cases.

View our infographic.

 

Legal Analytics is used for planning, forecasting, and litigation strategy. The metrics in this report may help readers examine who to pursue as clients, how long a matter may take, or when to settle. This research supplements traditional legal research and anecdotal data in order to gain a competitive edge in litigation.

Lex Machina hosted a webcast to discuss the report on June 24, 2021 with Dawn Mertineit, Partner at Seyfarth Shaw, Seth Gerber, Partner at Morgan Lewis, and Gloria Huang, Legal Content Associate at Lex Machina. View a recording of the webcast.

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