Koray J. Bulut 

Koray J. Bulut heads Goodwin Procter LLP’s employment practice in California. He also co-leads the firm’s trade secrets, employee mobility and noncompete groups. His own work specializes in complex matters involving trade secrets, employee mobility and risk mitigation for employers’ intellectual property in the new remote work environment.

A trend he sees coming regarding noncompete employment contracts links to a current case Bulut is litigating in San Diego. “The FTC has said it intends to put the kibosh on non-competes nationwide,” he pointed out. “If that goes through and if it withstands challenges from employer groups, we will likely see an uptick in trade secret litigation as a stand-in for non-competes.”

In the San Diego matter, Bulut represents a wealth management tech company sued by a retirement planning company over allegations that two of its former investment advisors brought trade secret information along when they were hired by Bulut’s client. The Retirement Group Inc. v. Farther Finance et al., 37-2022-000047432 (S. Diego Co. Super. Ct., filed Nov. 23, 2022).

Bulut’s strategy: compel the plaintiff to identify the specific trade secrets at issue. “There will be no moving forward with this case until the plaintiff identifies for the court the distinction between fair, competitive activity and trade secret theft,” he said. Six months have passed, but “Our client is willing to put the time in to show that trade secret litigation cannot be used as a proxy for non-competes.”

In contrast to that case’s strategic standstill, sometimes Bulut has to move fast. He represents a fintech client in a suit against a rival that claims its former executive should be barred from working for Bulut’s client because he was exposed to trade secrets in his former job. Step Mobile, Inc. v. Greenlight Financial Technology, Inc., 21-CV-383407 (S. Clara Co. Super. Ct., filed June 18, 2021).

Greenlight filed the matter in Georgia, accusing the executive of misappropriation of trade secrets and secured a preliminary injunction blocking his employment at Step Mobile. Bulut moved to dismiss that action and sued Greenlight in California, alleging its tactics violated public policy favoring employee mobility and constituted an unfair business practice. The matter was then resolved on terms favorable to Bulut’s client.

It all took place within a three-week period. “It becomes a game of chess where the moves come faster and faster, and we finally took the wind out of their sails,” Bulut said.

— John Roemer