Why litigate a case for months or years, only to arrive at a settlement that would have been possible before the case began?  In many cases, neither litigant would choose this approach, but it happens quite often nonetheless.  According to Lex Machina data, about 60% of trade secret cases filed in federal court in the last decade ended in either a voluntary (8%) or stipulated (52%) dismissal.  Of course, many of these settlements were likely informed by discovery and the arguments made by the parties in court.  But in other cases, resolutions probably could have been reached before both parties incurred unnecessary litigation expenses.
Continue Reading Trade Secret Strategies: Using Standstill Agreements to Resolve Disputes Out of Court