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The Sedona Conference WG12 Annual Meeting 2022

Date
-
Location:
 
Please join us in Reston on September 7 & 8, 2022, to dialogue on the latest work product from WG12 and hot-button topics in trade secrets law.  A welcome reception will be held on Tuesday evening, September 6, from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at the Hyatt Regency Reston.  
 
Participating in this year’s WG12 Annual Meeting will be U.S. District Judges Beth Freeman of the Northern District of California and Sidney Stein of the Southern District of New York. Also joining us are Magistrate Judge Kevin Doyle of the District of Vermont, retired Magistrate Judge Hildy Bowbeer of the District of Minnesota, and retired Judge Donald F. Parsons, Jr. of the Delaware Court of Chancery.  We are pleased that our judges will participate on a Judges’ panel, and also will join other panel sessions throughout our 1 ½-day program.
 

In addition to our judicial dialogue, our program will cover a number of other engaging topics.  Our dialogue leaders will discuss the current status of and outstanding issues regarding our four current drafting team projects.  Specifically, we will be seeking member feedback and input on:

  • Draft Commentary Review: What Is/Is Not Protectable As A Trade Secret?  Within this panel, the dialogue leaders will explore whether confidential information is different from trade secrets, and how businesses distinguish trade secrets from “general skill, knowledge and experience?"
     
  • Draft Commentary Review: Sharing Trade Secrets With Other Organizations.  Here, the panel will discuss protecting trade secrets with contractual, physical and technological tools before, when and after they are shared, from the disclosing party's perspective and the receiving party's perspective.  
     
  • Draft Commentary Review: Forensics Issues In Trade Secret Disputes.  Among other issues, on the agenda for this session will be pre-litigation forensic investigations, forensics in expedited discovery proceedings, the role of court-appointed/independent forensic neutrals, recommendations regarding initial disclosures and discovery of forensics, and forensic remediation as a remedy. 
     
  • Draft Commentary Review: Ethics and Trade Secret Disputes.  In this session, the dialogue leaders will discuss, and solicit member comment and input about, the ethical issues arising in (1) representation of multiple clients, (2) the obligation not to assert a trade secrets claim or defense that lacks actual merit, (3) potentially misappropriated trade secrets, and (4) simultaneous criminal investigations and civil litigation.

You’ll also learn from sessions led by our in-house counsel members exploring their perspective on the importance and value of Sedona commentaries, and you’ll hear about proposed new topics to be explored by future brainstorming groups.  You’ll also have an opportunity to offer your own ideas on subject areas WG12 should explore.  WG12 leadership will lead a discussion of where WG12 has been and where it plans to go in the future.  And to broaden our focus, the dialogue leaders in this international session will explore emerging issues concerning trade secrets across international borders, including extraterritoriality and cross-border discovery considerations.

Our WG12 dialogue leaders and the detailed and timed agenda for the sessions are available below.  We look forward to seeing you in Reston! 

CLE:

We will seek CLE accreditation for this event in selected jurisdictions as dictated by attendance.

Hotel information:

Our room block at the Hotel has expired and the Hotel has sold out of standard guest rooms.  We understand that the Hotel may still have some deluxe rooms and suites available.  If the Hotel does not have a guest room to your liking, there are a number of other hotels only a mile or two away.    

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Boston, MA, USA
  DAY 1 - Wednesday, September 7  
Time Session Panelists
7:30 — 8:30 a.m. Breakfast & Registration       
8:30 — 8:45 a.m. Welcome and Introductions Almeling, CundiffWeinlein
8:45 — 10:30 a.m.

[Panel 1] Draft Commentary Review: What Can and Cannot Be a Protectable Trade Secret 

This panel will explore several important issues.  Is confidential information coextensive with trade secrets? What is or is not a trade secret?  And how does one distinguish between trade secrets and an employee's general skill and knowledge? The dialogue leaders will discuss and elicit membership feedback on the status, outstanding issues, and direction of this draft commentary.

Beck*, Buziak, Chow, Freeman (J), KreiterMorton*, Pooley, Skoff
10:30 — 10:45 a.m. Morning Break  
10:45 a.m. — 12:15 p.m.

[Panel 2] Draft Commentary Review: Sharing Trade Secrets With Other Organizations

In this panel, the dialogue leaders will explore the topics of protecting trade secrets with contractual, physical and technological tools before, when and after they are shared, from the disclosing party's perspective and the receiving party's perspective. This discussion will identify potential issues when sharing trade secrets and will suggest pragmatic available solutions in light of marketplace realities.

D'Angelo, EnglerFineHayes*, Parsons (J. ret.)Pelletier*, Saeedi, Schroder 

12:15 — 1:45 p.m. Lunch  
1:45 — 3:15 p.m.

[Panel 3] Draft Commentary Review: Ethics Issues in Trade Secret Disputes

Ethical issues often attend litigation and disputes of any kind, but there are specific issues which arise in trade secrets matters.  This panel confronts some of them from a practitioner, academic and judicial perspective.  This discussion will consider ethical issues in the representation of multiple clients, in avoiding meritless claims and defenses, in connection with potential misappropriation red flags, and in the interplay between criminal proceedings and civil litigation.

Cameron-Banks, Fink*, Morris, O'Toole, Prewitt, Saeedi, Shenian, Stein (J)

3:15 — 3:30 p.m. Afternoon Break  

3:30 — 5:00 p.m.

 

 

 

 

5:00 - 5:15 p.m.

[Panel 4] Voices from the Bench: Judicial Perspectives for 2022 and Beyond

This panel with varied federal and state court experience encompassing both coasts and the heartland will provide thoughts on issues which are germane to the trade secrets field.

 

 

Closing Remarks for Day One

Bowbeer (J. ret.), Doyle (J), Freeman (J), Parsons (J. ret.), Stein (J), Cundiff*

 

 

 

Weinlein

  DAY 2 - Thursday, September 8  
Time Session Panelists
7:30 — 8:30 a.m. Breakfast & Registration      
8:30 — 9:30 a.m.

[Panel 5] State of WG12: Where We've Been and Where We Are Going - How Are the Sedona Commentaries Being Used?  Open Questions and Future Commentaries

Sedona Commentaries in the Courts and Practice

Potential New Commentaries for Discussion:

  • Model Jury Instructions under the DTSA
  • How to Ensure that "Clean Rooms" Are Truly "Clean": Lawful Reverse Engineering
  • What is Misappropriation and What Remedies are Appropriate for Different Types of Misappropriation?
  • Attorneys Fees and Exemplary Damages
  • Other Suggested Topics? 
Almeling*, GerardiHerbert, Linderman, Weibust
9:30 a.m.— 11:00 a.m.

[Panel 6] Draft Commentary Review: Forensic Issues In Trade Secret Disputes 

This diverse and knowledgable panel comprised of members from the practitioner, forensic expert and judicial realms will consider a number of issues including pre-litigation forensic investigations, forensics in expeditied discovery proceedings, the roles of court-appointed/independent forensic neutrals, initial disclosures and discovery of forensics, and forensic remediation as a remedy.  The dialogue leaders will discuss and elicit membership feedback on the status, outstanding issues, and direction of this draft commentary. 

Doyle (J), Falk, Ostroff, Racich, Vaughn*
11:00 — 11:15 Morning Break  
11:15 a.m. — 12:00 p.m.

[Panel 7] Trade Secrets Across Borders: A World of Emerging Issues

Our prior work has focused on the extraterritorial reach of trade secrets law and selected issues concerning cross-border discovery. This panel will lead a discussion of work from the joint patent and trade secret teams -- cross-border discovery Phase II -- including:

  • Extraterritoriality considerations under state and federal trade secrets law including 18 USC Sec. 1837
  • Managing Discovery Requests Under 28 USC Sec. 1782
  • Cross-Border Discovery Considerations
  • Attorney-client Privilege Considerations
Cooper, Kay, PadePooley
12:00 — 12:15 Break  
12:15 p.m. — 1:30 p.m.

[Panel 8] In-House Perspectives On Managing Trade Secrets and Litigation About Them: How Can We Ensure Productive Consensus?

Trade secret counseling often involves a prescription of recommendations clients and their in-house counsel should follow to best protect company assets. While implementation of these ideas may well provide optimal protection for the enterprise, they may not always be practical, palatable or cost-effective. And advice on educating your workforce how to identify trade secrets and then how best to protect them can be complicated, often necessitating compromises regarding what is realistic in light of corporate resources and commitment. This expert panel with substantial in-house experience - some of whom currently work in-house and others who did so in previous employment or in secondment roles -- offer their thoughts on how our Sedona trade secrets Commentaries can better reflect the perspectives and realities of today's in-house practice.

Berkley, Bowbeer (J. ret.), Cundiff*, D'Angelo, Linderman, Miller, Schroder
1:30 — 1:35 p.m. Closing Statements Weinlein
1:35 — 2:15 p.m. Grab and Go Lunch (provided)  
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