Graham & James wins first court battle with rival firm
Taylor Joynson's affiliated US firm granted injunction by Los Angeles Superior Court instructing Oppenheimer Wolff to hand over trade secrets, while poaching ban stays
September 01, 1999 at 08:03 PM
2 minute read
'[The] reality for top 100 law firms in the US is that little about their business is secret'
Counsel for Oppenheimer Wolff
Taylor Joynson Garrett's US affiliate Graham & James has won a preliminary injunction in a bitter tussle with a rival firm concerning allegations of conspiracy to steal staff and trade secrets.
Judge Dzintra Janavs of the Los Angeles Superior Court granted San Francisco-based Graham & James the injunction last week, instructing Minnesota-based Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly to hand over any Graham & James trade secrets in its possession.
The battle started in July when Oppenheimer Wolff hired the managing partner of Graham & James' Silicon Valley office, Chris Graham, and his fellow partner Tim Hube to set up a tech-law office in Palo Alto.
Graham & James' attorneys claimed that the two partners passed on not only client information, but also the firm's plans and overall strategy via e-mail to Oppenheimer Wolff before they even left the firm in August.
Oppenheimer Wolff is alleged to have arranged to poach the rest of the office en masse, but was prevented by a Los Angeles court injunction in July which banned further poaching. The ban was also upheld during last week's ruling.
Oppenheimer Wolff denies receiving any secrets from Graham & James. "[The] reality for top 100 law firms in the US is that little about their business is secret," said Oppenheimer Wolff's counsel during the hearing.
Graham & James managing partner Larry Blume said of the court battle: "This is an egregious case, [with] a local managing partner attempting to deliver one of our offices to another law firm."
According to Graham & James, this is only the third time in recent US history that one firm has taken another firm to court over partner defections. The most recent case was concluded in June involving New York-based Whitman Breed Abbott & Morgan.
Partners who left Whitman Breed for another US firm were ordered to pay compensation for taking their clients with them.
Nancy Manzo, marketing director at Graham & James, denied that taking Oppenheimer Wolff to court was "over the top".
"It is unusual and it is precedent-setting, but it is not overboard," she said.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllSkadden to Close in Shanghai and Make Cuts to China Corporate Practice
DWF Group's Canadian Firm Set to Add Fourth Office With 16-Lawyer Montreal Team
UK Law Firms Face £75M Money Laundering Investigations Alongside Russia Scrutiny
3 minute readTrending Stories
- 1The Law Firm Disrupted: Playing the Talent Game to Win
- 2A&O Shearman Adopts 3-Level Lockstep Pay Model Amid Shift to All-Equity Partnership
- 3Preparing Your Law Firm for 2025: Smart Ways to Embrace AI & Other Technologies
- 4BD Settles Thousands of Bard Hernia Mesh Lawsuits
- 5A RICO Surge Is Underway: Here's How the Allstate Push Might Play Out
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250