Darin W. Snyder

An experienced practitioner noted for his expertise in advising technology sector clients on complex trade secret and patent disputes, Snyder is also co-head of O'Melveny's diversity and inclusion initiative and a member of its executive and policy committees.

The coronavirus pandemic has had a mixed effect, he said. "It creates new risks in my line of work, along with challenges and opportunities. I've had three trials continued so far this year. The other side is that I can be just about anywhere without leaving San Rafael. Today I appeared in two different courts in two different states. Last week it was three courts in three states in a day, Delaware and Texas and California. This is the longest I've been without a plane ride in 30 years."

But lawyers aren't off planes for good, Snyder thinks. "There'll be a preference for doing evidentiary hearings and jury trials in person until video gets a lot better," he said. "At the same time, judges are getting a little more confident in remote appearances. And they certainly cut down on costs and inconvenience."

Snyder handles a variety of matters for Semtech Corp., which produces wireless charging technologies for mobile devices, the Internet of Things and data center networking. Among his cases is one involving a startup begun by former Semtech employees seeking a declaratory judgment that they have not breached employment agreements with their former employer and have not misappropriated Semtech trade secrets. Spark Connected LLC v. Semtech Corp., 4:18-cv-00748 (E.D. Texas, filed Oct. 17, 2018).

On the contrary, Snyder replied a month later in a complaint with counterclaims alleging the new company used Semtech's trade secrets to compete directly in the wireless power market.

In late August, Snyder appeared virtually at a hearing with the judge in Texas to argue summary judgment and other motions in the case. "This is a typical situation," he said, pointing to a tangle of affiliations and contentions involving arbitration agreements, a purchase agreement that may have been superseded by a separation agreement and maneuvering over a press release that may be protected by the litigation privilege. "There are so many things going on to try to unravel these relationships," he added. "It's not unusual in the modern technology world."

Snyder has used some of the time freed up by the pandemic to perform pro bono work. "The trials postponed by Covid created time to let me represent three kids from El Salvador who entered the U.S. by themselves and were in detention," he said. A judge in the District of Columbia let him argue remotely on their behalf. "We got the government to agree to release them to their dad's custody," he said. "The prospect that they'd be sent back to El Salvador where their lives had been threatened was unacceptable. Now, we're fighting to keep them in the U.S."

-- John Roemer