Dipanwita Deb Amar

Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer • San Francisco

Dipanwita Deb Amar joined Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP in 2012. She litigates complex employment issues at both the trial and appellate levels.

Two major current cases illustrate the breadth of her expertise.


When more than two dozen employees left a leading maker of lasers for medical and aesthetic treatments to join a competitor, the company retained Amar for help. Her resulting moves led to court orders that have already been held out in legal circles as examples of how a company can protect itself. 


"We've been cited multiple times," Amar said. The former employees are accused of "lifting and shifting" trade secrets from Amar's client to their new company. Cynosure LLC et al. v. Reveal Lasers LLC et al., 1:22-cv-11176 (D. Mass., filed July 20, 2022).


In 2023, Amar obtained nearly all the relief she requested in the form of preliminary injunctions based on the employees' non-competition and non-solicit agreements.


Next: A September 2024 trial on damages that could reach $100 million. "If you work for a company that was built for success, and you destroy it on the way out the door by taking IP and maligning it to customers, there will be consequences," Amar said.


She said that two insiders who worked at Cynosure planned to start a U.S.-based rival. "Then those two solicited the best salespeople at company events, taking advantage of their knowledge of customer preferences, hot leads, setup information and other valuable data. They did it on Cynosure's time and dime, and that's unacceptable. I look forward to having a jury see these facts," Amar said.


In a second major matter, Amar was representing First Republic Bank in a FINRA arbitration brought by a former wealth manager it accused of misappropriating confidential information on his way out the door. The case was in mid-hearing in May 2023 when the bank failed. State auditors closed the bank and appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. as its receiver.


Amid the fallout, an unusual question arose: could the FDIC be compelled to arbitration to complete the case brought by the ex-employee? After the case was removed to federal court, Amar -- now representing the bank's subsidiaries -- had to have that issue of first impression resolved before she could proceed with the case. Feinstein v. First Republic Securities Co. LLC et al., 2:23-cv-03674 (C.D. Cal., filed May 12, 2023).


"We argued that the FDIC could not be compelled to arbitration and the just agreed with us," Amar said. "Our case will remain in federal court." An appeal is likely.


"I'm working on a lot of big, important things," Amar said. "And it's a pleasure."