Protecting Your Trade Secrets,"  Radio interview with Paul Murphy on the program, "America's Best Lawyers.

		University of Southern California Law School, J.D., 1991 USC Law Review, Order of the Coif
		University of California at Santa Barbara, B.A., with honors, 1988

He is licensed to practice law in both the State of California and the State of New York, and has litigated and tried numerous cases in state and federal courts across the country as well as in arbitration. He has also represented clients in various congressional investigations and has defended witnesses in testimony before Congress.

Mr. Murphy represents both plaintiffs and defendants in all types of commercial and business disputes including those involving breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and other business torts; corporate and partnership dissolutions; professional malpractice; theft of trade secrets; copyright and trademark infringement; and high-end employment disputes. He also defends several large corporations in their products liability cases.  Mr. Murphy also represents foreign clients in litigation in the United States, including clients from Great Britain, the Netherlands and China.

A representative sample of Mr. Murphy's current and recent cases include:

		Won nearly $5 million for our client at an arbitration involving a dispute over the breach of an exclusive agency agreement in the garment industry between a United States sales agent and a Chinese manufacturing representative.  The Chinese manufacturer not only denied liability but cross-claimed for almost $1 million for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and other claims.  The arbitrator ruled in favor of our client on all issues, and awarded interest and attorneys’ fees as well.
		Prosecuting a trade secrets case in federal court on behalf of the largest provider of language translations services against a competitor who recruited our client’s employees who also took extremely sensitive trade secret information.  The court issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the competitor from soliciting our client’s customers or using the trade secret information.
		Prosecuting a case on behalf of an American LED manufacturer with subsidiaries in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan over ownership and control of both the American and foreign assets.  The dispute also involves allegations of copyright and trade secret misappropriation and has been transferred to the Complex Court for further proceedings.
		Defending two different Fortune 1000 companies in their products liability litigation in California involving allegations that the companies manufactured or distributed products containing asbestos, silica and other allegedly harmful substances.   During the past year, alone, Mr. Murphy won summary judgment in one case and obtained a voluntary dismissal with prejudice of another, and our clients have not paid a dime to settle any of their cases handled by our firm for over five years.
		Prosecuting a claim for legal malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty against a law firm that simultaneously represented and held ownership interests in a client, and also simultaneously represented the client’s largest shareholder.  The firm then secretly preferred the interests of one shareholder over the interests of the corporation, resulting in damages in excess of $5 million.

Other significant cases headed by Mr. Murphy include:

		In a legal malpractice case, we represented a woman whose prior lawyers allowed the statute of limitations to run on her claim.  Mr. Murphy prosecuted the malpractice case and obtained a substantial recovery for our client.
		Mr. Murphy recently won summary judgment on all causes of action for a distributor of DVDs in a case where the plaintiffs alleged that the distributor lacked the requisite releases and otherwise used their likeness without authorization. The case involved cutting-edge First Amendment and notice issues.
		Defended a law firm and several of its lawyers against three separate lawsuits alleging malicious prosecution. In each of the three cases, Mr. Murphy successfully moved to strike the complaint pursuant to the "anti-SLAPP" statute and, after we were successful on each appeal, the clients were awarded and recovered all of their attorneys' fees and costs.
		In a case brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission against one of the firm's corporate clients, the Securities and Exchange Commission elected to dismiss the case after the first day of trial. Our client literally walked away from the case without having to pay any money or agree to any form of relief against it whatsoever.
		Obtained a confidential settlement for Roy Olofson, the former vice President of Finance, in the Global Crossing bankruptcy scandal. Mr. Olofson sued Gary Winnick and other executives for defamation and for wrongful termination. Mr. Murphy also represented Mr. Olofson during his related testimony before Congress.
		Represented former NBA basketball coach Bill C. Fitch who had filed suit against the Los Angeles Clippers for failing to pay him $4 million in guaranteed deferred compensation. The client reached a favorable settlement literally on the eve of trial.
		Obtained a nationwide injunction against Paychex, Inc. under California's Unfair Trade Practices Act that prohibited Paychex from terminating their licensing arrangement with dozens of small payroll companies.
		Represented a well-known dealer in Art Deco furniture and accessories in a case involving theft of trade secrets, unfair competition and defamation. As part of that representation, Mr. Murphy obtained a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction prohibiting the defendants from soliciting the client's customers and forcing the defendants to return stolen documents. The case settled after our computer forensics expert found our client’s deleted customer list on the defendant's computer.
		In a case that is representative of Mr. Murphy's many partnership and corporate dissolution and dispute cases, he represented the dissolved law firm of Dickson, Carlson & Campillo in a dispute against one of its former law partners and the now defunct law firm of Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison for allegedly stealing Dickson Carlson's largest client. The case involved cutting-edge issues of breach of fiduciary duty and resulted in a precedent-setting decision by the California Court of Appeal. Our client was ultimately awarded $4.1 million in damages.
		Represented the Motion Pictures Association of America and its constituent members for claims of copyright infringement against a former Sheriff's officer. The Sheriff's officer was caught manufacturing and distributing pirated DVDs.

Mr. Murphy also represents individuals charged with white collar crimes, including corporate embezzlement, espionage, securities fraud, campaign finance fraud, telemarketing fraud and counterfeiting of intellectual property. For example, Mr. Murphy was part of the team who represent James J. Smith, an FBI agent who was alleged to have allowed accused spy Katrina Leung to steal classified documents from the United States Government. He was also part of the team that represented Johnny Chung in criminal and civil proceedings arising out of a campaign finance scandal involving the Democratic National Committee.  Mr. Murphy and his former partner also defended Mr. Chung during his testimony before Congress.

Mr. Murphy has been quoted frequently in publications such as The Daily Journal, the National Law Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Wall Street Journal on issues involving partnership dissolutions, non-compete agreements, and other business disputes. He also serves as a speaker and commentator, and has been featured on Forbes Skyradio on issues relating to the protection of corporate trade secrets.

To listen to Mr. Murphy's interview, please click here.

		Partner, O'Neill, Lysaght & Sun (1995-2003)
		Associate, Davis Polk & Wardwell (1992-1995)
		Law Clerk to the Honorable William J. Rea, U.S. District Court, Central District of California (1991-1992)