As former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder observed, there are only two types of companies affected by trade-secret theft: those that know they’ve been compromised and those that don’t know yet.

Although the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) created new tools last year to help companies protect these valuable assets, it has not resulted in the same level of uniformity for trade secrets as for patents or other intellectual property because the DTSA does not pre-empt state laws. That was one of the main takeaways from my presentation Tuesday at the Benchmark Women in Litigation Forum in New York.

I detailed recent examples of how federal courts across the country are applying the law, including the ex parte seizure provision. Another key point was that employers are now required to give their employees, independent contractors, and consultants notice of the whistleblower protections within the DTSA. Our team at Parker Poe has been helping companies comply with this new requirement, and I provided sample language that employers can use in their updated employee agreements.

I’d like to thank Benchmark for the opportunity to present, as well as everyone who braved the United Nations traffic and Hurricane Jose remnants to attend. Catharine Arrowood, Jami Farris, and I deeply appreciated the chance to learn from and connect with other women litigators. You can download my full presentation here.