Joseph Lavigne

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Joseph Lavigne is a founder and editor of the Trade Secret Insider and is a lead partner for Jones Walker’s Trade Secret Non-Compete Team. He has years of experience litigating trade secret, non-compete, computer fraud, and unfair competition cases — in both federal and state courts. Several of these cases established Louisiana’s law on trade secrets and non-competes. He also actively advises clients on how to protect their trade secrets and retain key personnel, as well as ways to avoid liability when hiring key personnel from a competitor. Mr. Lavigne can be reached at jlavigne@joneswalker.com or 504.582.8610.

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Louisiana Court Clarifies Employee Non-Solicitation Provision Requirements

By Joseph Lavigne on Posted in Non-Compete
In a recent ruling, The Louisiana Court of Appeal, First Circuit recently ruled that an employee non-solicit/no-poaching agreement is not subject to the Louisiana non-compete statute but, nevertheless, to be valid, must have a temporal limitation that is reasonable in scope to be enforceable. Because the agreement at issue was open-ended with no temporal limitation, … Continue Reading

Federal Judge Stymies FTC Efforts to Outlaw Non-Compete Agreements

By Joseph Lavigne and Connor Fields on Posted in Federal Trade Commission, Non-Compete
On August 20, 2024, Judge Ada Brown of the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas set aside the Federal Trade Commission’s rule that effectively prohibited the use of non-compete agreements. Interpreting the Administrative Procedure Act, which provides for judicial review of the actions of federal agencies like the FTC, the court found … Continue Reading

PA Federal Court Denies Request to Enjoin FTC Ban on Non-Competes

By Joseph Lavigne and Madison Gaines on Posted in Federal Trade Commission, Non-Compete
As previously reported, the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued an injunction prohibiting the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from enforcing its non-compete ban, which is set to take effect on September 4. That ruling, however, was limited to the plaintiffs in that case. Similarly, the US District Court for the Eastern … Continue Reading

Employee Monitoring and Protecting Trade Secrets in Remote Work Environments

By Joseph Lavigne and PJ Kee on Posted in Data Protection, Trade Secret
With large swaths of the workforce working remotely, some employers have growing concerns about employee productivity, as well as information security and confidentiality. In today’s remote work era, organizations face significant challenges in balancing employee monitoring with safeguarding confidential information and trade secrets. This article explores key insights and strategies for HR professionals navigating these … Continue Reading

Update – Status of Challenge to FTC Non-Compete Ban

By Joseph Lavigne and Madison Gaines on Posted in Federal Trade Commission, Non-Compete
As previously reported, the consolidated lawsuits challenging the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) non-compete ban sought a preliminary injunction and a stay until litigation is resolved concerning the FTC’s non-compete ban. On July 3, 2024, a federal judge in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas decided that a preliminary injunction was appropriate … Continue Reading

A Closer Look at the FTC’s Final Non-Compete Rule

By Joseph Lavigne and Madison Gaines on Posted in Federal Trade Commission, Non-Compete
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued its Final Non-Compete Agreement Rule (Final Rule), banning non-compete agreements between employers and their workers. The Final Rule will go into effect 120 days after being published in the Federal Register. This Final Rule will impact most US businesses, specifically those that utilize non-compete agreements to protect … Continue Reading

The LA Senate Passes Restrictions on Non-Competes for Primary Care Physicians; SB 165 Now Moves to the House of Representative for a Vote

By Joseph Lavigne and Samantha Shear on Posted in Federal Trade Commission, Non-Compete, Uncategorized
Last month, we wrote about the anticipated impact of the Federal Trade Commission’s expected rule on the healthcare industry. In that post, we discussed the impacts many argued non-competes would have on the healthcare space. Specifically, while some physician groups argue the prevalence of non-competes in the healthcare industry contributes to physician shortages, other industry … Continue Reading

The Expected Impact of the FTC’s Expected Rule on Healthcare Industry

By Joseph Lavigne and Samantha Shear on Posted in Federal Trade Commission, Non-Compete
The Proposed Rule Last year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a proposed rule to ban most noncompete agreements nationwide. With very limited exceptions, the sweeping rule forbids any contractual term between an employer and a worker that has the effect of preventing the worker from accepting employment with a competitor, or operating a competitive … Continue Reading

FTC Hosts Public Forum on Proposed Rule Banning Non-Compete Clauses

By Thomas Hubert, Joseph Lavigne and PJ Kee on Posted in Non-Compete
On February 16, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) hosted a public forum to examine its proposed rule to ban non-compete agreements. Non-compete clauses serve to protect a business’s trade secrets and confidential information, which makes such a ban a concern for many businesses. The comment period for this proposed rule ends on April 19, so … Continue Reading

FTC To Host Virtual Public Forum

By Joseph Lavigne and Thomas Hubert on Posted in Non-Compete
As we recently reported, in January 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a proposed nationwide ban on non-compete clauses. The proposed rule would restrict employers from enforcing all existing and future non-compete agreements with their employees. The FTC announced that it will host a free and open public forum on Thursday, February 16, 2023, from … Continue Reading

Comment Period for FTC’s Proposed Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Ends March 20 — The Time to Act Is Now!

By Joseph Lavigne, Thomas Hubert and PJ Kee on Posted in Non-Compete
On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking essentially banning non-compete clauses and categorizing them as unfair methods of competition. Non-compete clauses serve to protect a business’s trade secrets and other confidential information, which makes the adoption of such a rule a major concern for all US businesses. Our previous article addressed … Continue Reading

Legal Challenges the FTC Faces in Light of Proposed Ban on Non-Compete Agreements

By Joseph Lavigne, Thomas Hubert and PJ Kee on Posted in Non-Compete
On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking essentially banning non-compete clauses and categorizing them as unfair methods of competition. Non-compete clauses serve to protect a business’s trade secrets and other confidential information, which makes the adoption of such a rule concerning for all US businesses. Our previous … Continue Reading

How the FTC’s Proposed Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Could Affect Your Business

By Joseph Lavigne, Thomas Hubert and PJ Kee on Posted in Non-Compete
On January 5, 2023 the Federal Trade Commission released a Notice of Proposed Rule that would essentially ban all non-compete agreements between employers and employees. If the proposed rule or a similar rule is adopted by the FTC, it would have a profound impact on all US businesses and particularly those businesses that utilize non-compete … Continue Reading

Lavigne & Hubert Author Article in IPWatchdog

By Thomas Hubert and Joseph Lavigne on Posted in Trade Secret
Joe Lavigne and Tom Hubert, partners in the Labor & Employment Practice Group in the New Orleans office, authored “(Not-So) Amicable Separations: Preventing, Investigating, and Responding to Trade Secret Misappropriation by Departing Employees” published by IPWatchdog. Joe and Tom shared helpful tips to protect company trade secrets and confidential information from theft, liability, and employee … Continue Reading

Tips to Remember for Protecting Trade Secrets and Confidential Information

By Joseph Lavigne on Posted in Confidential Information, Non-Compete, Trade Secret, Trade Secret Audit
We hope you and your employees had a festive holiday season and happy New Year!  It is always helpful to review your company policies and procedures on an annual basis, and policies and procedures on protection of trade secrets and confidential information are no different.  Below are some tips to remember and questions to consider … Continue Reading

UPDATE: Self-Driving Car Executive Sentenced to 1.5 years in Prison and Public Speech Tour for Trade Secret Theft

By Joseph Lavigne on Posted in Trade Secret
Since 2017, we have been covering the legal saga of Anthony Levandowski – the executive/engineer who allegedly stole Google’s trade secrets related to self-driving car technology and used it for the benefit of his new company, which he ultimately sold to Uber.  The saga included civil litigation, arbitration, bankruptcy, and criminal charges, but it seems … Continue Reading

Protecting Trade Secrets and Confidential Information from the Side Effects of the Coronavirus

By Joseph Lavigne on Posted in Trade Secret
The coronavirus has had an incredible negative impact across the globe. Besides the obvious medical issues, the virus has multiple side effects: closed schools, devastated the economy, multiple “stay at home” orders across the country, etc. In order to continue to do business and comply with the stay at home orders, many employers are allowing … Continue Reading

Not So Fast And Furious – Executive Indicted for Stealing Self-Driving Car Trade Secrets

By Joseph Lavigne on Posted in Trade Secret
Back in March, 2017, we posted about a civil lawsuit against Anthony Levandowski, who allegedly sped off with a trove of trade secrets after resigning from Waymo LLC, Google’s self-driving technology company. Waymo not only sued Levandowski, but also his new employer, Uber, and another co-conspirator, Lior Ron. Since our initial post, things have gotten progressively … Continue Reading

Do You Need Hard Proof of Data Theft To Bring Trade Secret Claims? Maybe Not

By Joseph Lavigne on Posted in Confidential Information, Trade Secret
The large majority of employment based trade secret claims start with an employer uncovering evidence that its employee or former employee improperly downloaded confidential business information. But a recent case in Boston illustrates that such evidence may not be necessary to bring a trade secret or unfair competition claim. The Dispute. In Amgen USA Inc. v. … Continue Reading

Federal Trade Secrets Bill Passes Senate

By Thomas Hubert, Joseph Lavigne and PJ Kee on Posted in Trade Secret
On Monday, the Senate unanimously passed the Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”) — a bill that would allow companies to pursue trade secret theft through civil litigation in federal court. This long-awaited measure is a major step towards elevating trade secrets to the level of federal protection enjoyed by the other intellectual property, such as patents, … Continue Reading

Tips For Protecting Against Unfair Competition From Within

By Joseph Lavigne on Posted in Confidential Information, Non-Compete, Trade Secret, Unfair Competition
This is Part One in a three-part series on preventing unfair competition and trade secret theft by former employees.   It’s an all too familiar story. A company spends substantial time and money training employees to run and manage a specific business division. The employees receive access to the company’s confidential information—customer contacts, pricing information, … Continue Reading
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