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Joe Lavigne

Partner

Jones Walker

Joe Lavigne is a partner in Jones Walker’s Labor & Employment Practice Group and an experienced litigator in trade secret and non-compete disputes. A lead attorney on Jones Walker’s trade secret and non-compete team, Joe focuses his practice on prosecuting and defending claims of employee misconduct involving trade secret violations, unfair trade practices, non-compete violations, invasion of privacy, Computer Fraud and Abuse Act issues, theft, and related disputes. He also advises clients on employment policies and practices and regularly negotiates employment agreements for employers.

Joe represents clients as plaintiffs and as defendants. This allows him to understand all sides of a given case, which is beneficial for advising clients prior to suit, negotiating resolutions, and litigating disputes. Clients regularly look to Joe to handle high-stakes litigation necessary to protect the client’s confidential, proprietary, and trade secret information. Clients also look to Joe to vigorously defend them when unfounded misappropriation claims are made. While his primary focus is in Louisiana and Texas, Joe has handled these cases across the United States, including in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Mississippi, and Utah.

Joe’s practice also includes labor relations, employment litigation (e.g., employment discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims, and litigation under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)), and professional liability litigation (e.g., legal malpractice, errors and omissions for insurance agents and stockbrokers, and defense of homeowners’/condo associations and their boards of directors).

A founding member of The Trade Secret Insider, Joe presents regularly at legal and industry conferences, where he speaks on issues related to protecting confidential and trade secret information, and prosecuting and defending claims regarding the same.

Recent Articles by Joe Lavigne

(Not-So) Amicable Separations: Preventing, Investigating, and Responding to Trade Secret Misappropriation by Departing Employees

The end of even the best employer-employee relationship can be fraught with challenges, not the least of which is the possibility that the employee may — unintentionally or with malice — depart with valuable trade secrets, proprietary data, or sensitive information. To minimize the likelihood of such misappropriation, employers should establish, communicate, and follow clear policies and procedures at each stage in the hiring, employment, and separation process: When recruiting employees, at regular intervals during an individual’s employment, when the employment relationship is terminated, or if evidence of theft or misappropriation is uncovered during routine and follow-on investigations. Trade secrets are protected under the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA), which defines a trade secret as business or technical information that derives value from not being generally known or readily accessible to the public through proper means and which the owner has taken reasonable measures to protect. Trade secrets are also covered by numerous state laws, the overwhelming majority of which have been based on the model Uniform Trade Secrets Act.