Jennifer S. Baldocchi

Jennifer S. Baldocchi navigates trade secrets cases as the chair of Paul Hastings' international employee mobility and trade secrets practice and vice chair of the firm's employment department.

Baldocchi's practice revolves around advising clients on high-stakes employment-related trade secrets litigation, as well as the tort and contractual aspects of safeguarding intellectual property. She addresses a wide range of issues, including preventing and responding to cybersecurity threats, creating trade secret protection programs, and offering counsel on the risks associated with employee mobility in an era where remote work allows employees instant access to a company's most confidential information.

Baldocchi has worked with numerous notable clients, including AeroVironment, Arena Pharmaceuticals, CareDx, Core Financial Partners, Dendreon Pharmaceuticals, Facebook, FalconX, Google, Healthpro, IBM, Kayne Anderson, Mattel, Okta, Scopely, Scharf Investments, The Walt Disney Company, Victory Park Capital and WR Berkeley Corporation.

In her role as lead counsel, Baldocchi is representing CareDx, a precision medicine company, in a lawsuit against Michael Olymbios, a former high-level executive who joined a competitor, Natera, and was accused of misappropriating trade secrets. This case involved breach of contract claims and misappropriation of trade secrets under the California Uniform Trade Secrets Act.

Another significant matter centers around Coincident, a prominent cryptocurrency hedge fund. This case involves allegations of misappropriation of trade secrets, where Coincident's CEO, Bryce Gilleland, filed a lawsuit against the company, claiming wrongful removal as a manager.

Baldocchi filed a counterclaim on behalf of Coincident, alleging trade secret misappropriation and violation of the Nevada Computer Crimes Act.

She said she has observed an increase in misappropriation cases in the fintech and traditional financial services sectors, influenced by the shift to remote work following the COVID-19 pandemic. This shift has expanded access to confidential information outside traditional office environments and raised concerns about the use of personal devices for conveying and storing intellectual property.

"It often feels like the number of ways in which an individual can take and store information continues to grow each year," Baldocchi said. "Successfully litigating has required me to convince courts and arbitrators to order the production of a far range of devices and accounts to obtain the evidence needed to prove the claims."

As for additional emerging trends, Baldocchi said, "The continued trend toward remote work poses a serious threat to protecting trade secrets. Now more than ever, companies must revisit antiquated policies and approaches that were designed to protect information in a traditional office environment. Employees with access to trade secrets are spread around the country and across the globe. Finding a way to ensure they can use critical, valuable information to do their jobs while ensuring it will not be used improperly is a serious challenge that all practitioners in this space must confront with innovative solutions."