Steven M. Zadravecz

Zadravecz, a Jones Day partner, has almost 25 years’ experience representing employers in matters that include high-stakes trade secrets litigation.

As the pandemic switched many employees to remote work, his counseling practice immediately pivoted toward advice on how clients can keep their workers’ home networks secure. “That situation led to a current issue I foreshadowed then, that of remote workers feeling free to comingle their company information and their personal stuff on their personal devices,” he said. “When working from home, they don’t feel anyone is watching.”

And when employees move to a new job, their former employer may have to sue to get their intellectual property back. “Personal email comes with associated privacy concerns, and that leads to disputes involving personal rights versus the company’s rights,” Zadravecz said. “Employees are reluctant to let us access their accounts that may hold private tax information or other sensitive data.” A solution is so-called “sandbox” apps or application containerization on personal devices. “The advice I give is: protect your information from the start.”

In a recent six-week live Orange County jury trial, Zadravecz was lead counsel for a medical supply company plaintiff that sued a former employee and his new employer for trade secrets misappropriation. It was a novel approach, because the defendant was not a direct competitor. Even so, the jury found for Zadravecz’ client. Further litigation to determine reasonable royalties is ongoing. Applied Medical Distribution Corp. v. Stephen Jarrells and Bruin Biometrics LLC, 30-2019-01049441 (O.C. Super. Ct., filed Feb. 5, 2019).

On the eve of trial, the former employee signed a stipulated preliminary injunction that required him to return all the material he had downloaded from his company computer and prohibited him from using any of AMDC’s trade secrets.

“Typically in trade secrets trials you see two competitors beating it out in the marketplace because someone is losing sales,” Zadravecz said. “Very few cases go to trial when the parties are not direct competitors. Our client sells surgical equipment. The defendant sells a monitoring device that is not related directly to surgery. But the former employee took customer lists and other trade secrets, and the jury agreed that although there was no unjust enrichment, we are still entitled to royalties based on the misappropriation finding.”

Zadravecz said he counsels clients that as pandemic restrictions extend further than at first thought, more and more employees are moving toward flexible work environments. “It’s going to be with us forever,” he predicted, pointing to surveys he’s seen that report employees don’t want to come back to the office even if it limits mentorships and opportunities for advancement. “I found that stunning. At-home trade secrets confinement policies will now be at the forefront of clients’ concerns.”

—John Roemer