Page 4 - Partnership

S4 | MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016 | Partnership

Improving Morale:

Five Rules Associate Assignments
for Making

misappropriation, and I need it in about a

BY MARC S. FRIEDMAN, week or so.”
NATALIE LOEB
Sarah, being somewhat intimidated by Eric,
AND GORDON LOEB
the irm’s founding partner, is afraid to ask
Aany questions and, instead, simply replies,
ssume that Eric Smith is a partner in “Okay Mr. Smith. Thanks for the assignment,
the Labor and Employment group at the which I am sure will be interesting. You won’t
prominent law irm of Smith & Jones. be disappointed.”
Smith’s largest client, Apex Technologies, As Sarah begins to work on the assignment,

recently discovered that a competitor has she realizes she doesn’t even know how to
been attempting to solicit and hire all of begin or where to go. Many questions arise
Apex’s key engineers and technical employ- in her mind: “What is the case about?” “What
ees. Worse still, Apex has uncovered, through is the deadline for the research”? “What form
a forensic analysis of certain key employees’ should the deliverable take?” “What jurisdic-
computers, that those employees have been tion’s law should I look at?” “How much time
sending the competitor Apex’s conidential does Mr. Smith expect me to spend on this?”
business information and trade secrets.
In addition to these questions, Sarah thinks,
Eric calls Sarah Simmons, a second-year
“I am sick to my stomach. I also have a major

assignment for Mr. Jones and I can’t do both!
Maybe I’ll just go to the bathroom.” Sarah CK
MARC S. FRIEDMAN is senior counsel in Dentons US. knows that trouble lies ahead but is para- TO
For more than 40 years he was the managing partner lyzed with fear as she sees her career path BIGS
of a major law irm or department. NATALIE LOEB being jeopardized. And, as a result, Mr. Smith’s
and GORDON LOEB are principals in Loeb Consulting litigation associate, into his ofice. Eric tells with each other. I would like you to do some ability to represent Apex may be seriously
Group, a management and leadership development Sarah the following:
research into what causes of action exist for compromised and, indeed, a very important
company.
“Sarah, this is the irst time we have dealt
employee pirating and intellectual property
client relationship may be endangered.

We are pleased to announce that

Jason A. Leonard

Brendan M. O’Malley, Ph.D.

have become Partners of our irm

resident in our New York ofice

and

Donald H. Heckenberg Jr.

has become a Partner of our irm

resident in our DC ofice

www.itzpatrickcella.com // New York // Washington // California