As information becomes more portable in today's high tech business world, litigation over trade secrets and non-competition agreements has increased exponentially. Companies seeking to recruit or retain talented employees with access to proprietary information are often as likely to find themselves a plaintiff as a defendant in these high stakes cost-intensive lawsuits. KOHP's practice includes preventive counseling and drafting enforceable employment covenants. And when litigation is unavoidable, we work aggressively and successfully to protect our clients' interests, often by developing creative solutions that short-circuit protracted litigation. Here are a few examples:

• Robert W. Baird & Co. v. Nehra and Lentz, Oakland County Circuit Court, Michigan: We obtained a temporary restraining order on Baird's behalf against two former financial advisors who took client information to work for a competitor, in violation of their non-competition agreements. A favorable settlement for our client followed.
• Degussa Admixtures Inc. v. Burnett and Sika Corporation, U.S. District Court, Michigan: We represented Sika and its employee in this breach of confidentiality and misappropriation case. The trial court denied Degussa's motion for injunctive relief, dismissed the case, and ordered Degussa to pay our client's attorney fees.
• Sick Inc. v. Pilz Automation Safety, D. Minn; Pilz Automation Safety v. Lawson and Bewley, Oakland County Circuit Court, Michigan: Sick poached two Pilz engineers, then filed a federal declaratory judgment action to invalidate the engineers' non-competition agreements. We obtained for Pilz a $100,000 recovery through a separate action in Michigan, dismissal of the federal suit, and an agreement not to place the employees in competitive positions.
• NovaCare Inc. v. Comfort Orthotics & Prosthetics, Inc., U.S. District Court, Michigan: We represented two designers who had left NovaCare to start their own clinic. We obtained a favorable settlement in this non-competition case after the trial court denied NovaCare's motion for a preliminary injunction.
• Metropolitan Life Insurance Company: Our firm has represented MetLife in courts across Michigan in cases where MetLife has enforced its contractual non-compete and confidentiality rights against departing employees. We have successfully stopped the departing employee from competing in each case and have recovered contractual damages incurred prior to the injunction.