Dan M. Forman

Forman, Los Angeles managing partner at Carothers, DiSante & Freudenberger, said the best thing about his trade secret work is knowing his accomplishments help enforce competitors’ rights and ensure everyone has a fair chance at success.

That means, he makes sure company employers can protect their products and brands to maintain their competitive edge. He specializes in defending trade secrets, and has an employment practice.

“I don’t think it’s fair when people take shortcuts,” said Forman, chair of the firm’s trade secret practice group. “A trade secret is something you yourself innovated, created and isn’t known to the public that gives you an advantage.”

Forman said he often must deal with clients who feel emotionally wronged, as their trade secrets were stolen by trusted workers, colleagues and confidantes.

Forman represented plaintiff Garfield Beach CVS LLC in a lawsuit against Palm Care Pharmacy, Mollison Pharmacy and Samera Yakoub, which raised claims of trade secret misappropriation, breach of contract and unfair competition. The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District Court of California, stemmed from CVS’ acquisition of a pharmacy business. A worker at this business took a customer list before leaving to work for a CVS competitor, the lawsuit claimed.

“We sought immediate temporary relief and the court declined it as they frequently do, but issued a preservation order,” said Forman.

The court sent the case into mediation with a magistrate judge, and Forman secured a resolution, including injunctive relief for CVS that was acceptable to all involved parties. Garfield Beach CVS LLC v. Palm Care Pharmacy 3:17-cv-00879 (S.D. Cal., filed May 1, 2017)

Forman said he learns something new in his practice every day. In his spare time, he gives webinars, seminars, lectures and writes columns.

Doing so regularly helps him offer expertise to other trade secret lawyers and helps expand on wide-ranging viewpoints on the subject matter.

“Carothers DiSante & Freudenberger has been a great platform for me the last 10 years, and I really appreciate and enjoy my partners, colleagues and abilities to be flexible compared to some of the larger firms that exist,” said Forman. “It’s also intriguing to me and valuable for our clients that as an employment law firm where we represent employers and not workers. I get to represent employers as both plaintiffs and defendants so I get to see both sides of that fence.”

— Gina Kim