Trade Secrets

James (Jim) Pooley focuses on trade secret law and data asset management, as an advocate, expert, advisor and neutral.  He is an author or co-author of several major IP works, including his treatise Trade Secrets (Law Journal Press) and the Patent Case Management Judicial Guide (Federal Judicial Center). His most recent business book is Secrets: Managing Information Assets in the Age of Cyberespionage (Verus Press 2015). The Senate Judiciary Committee relied on Jim for expert testimony and advice regarding the 2016 Defend Trade Secrets Act, and one Senator called his participation “instrumental” in achieving passage of this landmark legislation. From 2009 to 2014 he managed the international patent system (PCT) at WIPO in Geneva as Deputy Director General for Innovation and Technology. He has served as President of AIPLA and Chairman of the National Inventors Hall of Fame. He is Chair Emeritus of the Sedona Conference Working Group 12 on Trade Secrets and is Co-Chair of the ICC Trade Secrets Task Force. He has taught Trade Secret law at UC Berkeley and Santa Clara. In 2016 Jim was inducted into the IP Hall of Fame for his contributions to IP law and practice.

Randy Kahnke, is a partner in Faegre Drinker’s Minneapolis office. He is listed in Best Lawyers in America for bet-the-company litigation and has been the lead trial attorney on cases from New York to California and touching three continents. He represents clients in trade secret litigation and complex commercial litigation. Randy has served as group head of the firm's business litigation practice and has been recognized for his trial victories as a Minnesota Attorney of the Year. Randy served as a founding member of Sedona Conference’s Trade Secrets Working Group and as the co-chair of the Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Panel for the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. He has also served on the Federal Practice Committee of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota and as president of the Minnesota Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. Randy graduated summa cum laude from the University of St. Thomas and cum laude from the University of Minnesota Law School, where he served as a note and comment editor on the Minnesota Law Review. He is a former federal law clerk, a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, and he has been recognized as a leading litigator by a number of rating agencies, including Chambers USA. Randy has written and spoken broadly on trade secret law, including presentations before The Sedona Conference, The Intellectual Property Owners Association, and The American Intellectual Property Law Association.

Lora Brzezynski is a leading trial lawyer focusing on trade secrets and patent litigation who has earned a reputation as the trial lawyer clients rely on to represent their interests in high-value bet-the-company litigation. She is Chambers USA ranked in IP litigation and has more than 25 years of experience. Lora is a partner in Faegre Drinker’s Washington, DC office, but regularly tries cases throughout the country.

Marty Chester is an experienced trial lawyer who helps clients protect some of their most valuable assets: information and people. His practice focuses on trade secret and restrictive covenant litigation nationwide. Marty is a graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, where he served on the Law Review, and of Brown University. Marty served as a law clerk for the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, and before law school he worked in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Ryan Hurley is a partner with extensive experience litigating trade secret and restrictive-covenant disputes. In addition to his trade secrets practice, he litigates antitrust disputes throughout the country.  He also serves as a Deputy Group leader for the firm’s Business Litigation group.  Ryan has an undergraduate degree from Indiana University and a J.D. from Indiana University Maurer School of Law.

Kevin Wagner is an experienced trial lawyer who litigates patent and trade secret cases, as well as other high-stakes intellectual property and business matters for clients ranging from major, multinational corporations to emerging companies. Kevin graduated magna cum laude from the University of Wisconsin Law School and is a partner in Faegre Drinker’s Minneapolis office, but he regularly tries cases throughout the country.

Harmony Mappes is a partner at Faegre Drinker with a focus on trade-secret and restrictive-covenant litigation and counseling.  She graduated with a B.S. in Biology from Indiana University, with highest distinction and Phi Beta Kappa. She graduated from the University of Iowa College of Law, with highest distinction and Order of the Coif, and served as a Managing Editor for the Iowa Law Review. Harmony served as a judicial law clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. Harmony is a co-leader of Faegre’s trade secrets and non-competes team.

Thatcher Rahmeier is a partner in Faegre Drinker’s Delaware office who represents clients in courts and tribunals throughout the nation, including the United States Patent and Trademark Office. He focuses his practice on all matters related to intellectual property and related business disputes, specifically patent and trade secret litigation. Thatcher graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, cum laude, serving as an articles editor for the Pittsburgh Journal of Technology Law & Policy and, before that, graduated from the University of Miami, studying electrical and computer engineering with a focus on audio engineering topics.

Lauren Linderman helps companies protect the valuable trade secrets and intellectual property that are critical to their businesses, including through trade secret and restrictive covenant litigation and by providing strategic advice and oversight on trade secret protection programs and implementation of clean room development plans. Lauren is a graduate of the University of Southern California, where she served as editor-in-chief of the Southern California Law Review. Lauren also served as a law clerk in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

Matt Burkhart is a partner at Faegre Drinker. Matt’s experience includes investigating alleged trade secret theft in advance of litigation, initiating trade secret actions, and defending against claims of misappropriation. Matt also counsels companies on protecting their trade secrets and has experience training employees on confidentiality best practices. Matt received his undergraduate degree from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business and his J.D., magna cum laude, from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law.

Nathaniel Zylstra serves as counsel at Faegre Drinker, specializing in trade secret and complex commercial litigation. Nathaniel graduated from Yale Law School and from Dordt University. He served as a law clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and was Deputy Director for the Projects for International Human Rights and for Legal Reform at Hudson Institute.

Anna Sallstrom is an associate at Faegre Drinker. She graduated from Carleton College, Phi Beta Kappa, and Stanford Law School, where she was Editor In Chief of the Stanford Technology Law Review. She served as a law clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and was a trial lawyer at the U.S. Department of Justice.

Bryan Washburn is an associate at Faegre Drinker, with a focus on trade secret and noncompete litigation. He graduated from the University of Iowa College of Law with highest distinction and order of the coif. He served as a law clerk for the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.

Hannah Leiendecker is an associate at Faegre Drinker who practices complex commercial litigation, including class actions, trade-secret cases, and appellate work. She received her undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Carleton College.  She graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School, magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, and served as a note and comment editor for the Minnesota Law Review. She was a judicial clerk for the U.S. Court of the Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.

Rachel Cardwell is an associate in Faegre Drinker’s Dallas office, with a focus on trade secret and complex commercial litigation. Rachel graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School, cum laude, where she served on the Journal of International Law, competed on the mock trial team, and worked as a research assistant for Professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism.

Jesse Marks is an associate at Faegre Drinker, with a specialty in complex commercial litigation, including trade secret, class action, and anti-trust matters. Jesse graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School where he served as an associate editor of the Constitutional Law Journal and chaired the school’s moot court competition.  Jesse served as a judicial law clerk for Justice Richard L. Gabriel of the Colorado Supreme Court.