Darin W. Snyder

Snyder is an O’Melveny partner, a member of the firm’s executive and policy committees and an expert in advising technology sector clients on complex trade secrets and patent disputes. He is the author with colleague David S. Almeling of “Trade Secret Law and Corporate Strategy,” now in its third edition.

When he joined O’Melveny 29 years ago, Snyder said, the trade secrets field did not exist as a separate discipline. “It was treated as part of unfair competition law and handled by labor and employment lawyers. Litigators were generalists who did whatever the client needed. I had a trade secrets copyright fight over software used in the real estate industry. It was the days of proprietary systems, long before the cloud.”

In the mid-1990s, Snyder was involved in a major, long-running dispute over chip design involving Avanti Corp. and Cadance Design Systems Inc. The litigation concerned both civil and criminal trade secrets theft claims. “I got exposed to that world, and it’s been a springboard to my current practice,” he said.

Over the last year Snyder has overseen more than 30 cases, highlighted by what the firm called the notably daunting task of defending a Taiwanese biosimilar company accused by heavyweight Roche AG subsidiary Genentech Inc. of misappropriating trade secrets related to its top-selling cancer and cystic fibrosis drugs.

Genentech Inc. v. JHL Biotech Inc., 3:18-cv-06582 (N.D. Cal., filed Oct. 29, 2018).

Genentech’s move for an injunction could have shut JHL’s doors permanently; related criminal claims were also on the table. Snyder persuaded the judge to issue a more limited injunction that let JHL maintain both its R&D and its production operations as the litigation proceeded. He and colleagues then negotiated a settlement that cleared a fresh path forward for the company, which had installed new leadership. The O’Melveny team then directed the defense in the related criminal investigation.

“We settled with Genentech and entered into a non-prosecution agreement,” Snyder “This had been an existential threat to our client, and it was our job to protect the company’s future, along with its investors. JHL can now move forward.” With both civil and criminal claims involved, “I could see similarities with my early work in this area.”

Snyder represents a leading provider of management services for home health care benefits, including post-acute care coordination, an important emerging health care area. After a former senior-level manager went to a competitor, the client asked Snyder and colleagues to assert trade secrets misappropriation claims against the manager and his new company. CareCentrix Inc. v. Lanznar, 1:20-cv-01765 (D. Del., filed Dec. 20, 2020).

Snyder negotiated a deal that put the employee on leave pending a preliminary injunction ruling that Snyder called “a highly favorable standstill agreement” while the case proceeds.

“It’s been a busy year. I’m glad people continue to think of us for these cases,” Snyder said.

—John Roemer