Author Archives: Joe Ahmad

As Gov. Cuomo Keeps Grip on Power, His Baggage Would be a C-Suites Career-Ender

Posted on March 24, 2021 by Joe Ahmad

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is hanging on as accusations of sexual harassment, inappropriate relationships and workplace hostilities pile up. The revelations are coming so fast that they’re hard to keep straight. Multiple women, including current and former aides, have … Continue reading →

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Tracking the Impact of the Defend Trade Secrets Act After Five Years 

Posted on March 16, 2021 by Joe Ahmad

The now five-year-old Defend Trade Secrets Act has had a big impact, I reported in a Texas Lawyer commentary “Tracking the Impact of the Defend Trade Secrets Act After Five Years.”    “Trade secret filings were on the rise even before the DTSA and have only increased since. Texas is … Continue reading →

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Former Astros GM Demands Trial Over his Sign-Stealing Termination, but Quiet Arbitration Settlement May be Unavoidable

Posted on November 17, 2020 by Joe Ahmad

Former Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow is not fading quietly into the footnotes of baseball’s hall of shame. Still unemployed after his termination by the Astros following Major League Baseball’s investigation of the dark arts employed during the team’s World … Continue reading →

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Winning in Litigation Starts with Recognizing what Success Looks Like

Posted on August 24, 2020 by Joe Ahmad

I’ve learned over time that sometimes clients have a different version “winning” in litigation than their lawyer. Trial lawyers tend to be consumed with keeping score on issues that don’t matter much to clients. Legal disputes and conflict have a … Continue reading →

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Executives Cash in as Companies March Toward Bankruptcy 

Posted on August 6, 2020 by Joe Ahmad

Neiman Marcus is the latest company to raise eyebrows with a generous performance- and retention-based compensation plan for a group of executives at a time when the company itself is fighting for survival.    In July, investors, furloughed employees and bankruptcy trustee Henry Hobbs howled at the prospect of a $10 million compensation package for the high-end retailer’s CEO and a … Continue reading →

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Unexpected Consequences from the Pandemic Shutdown – A Spike in Whistleblower Complaints

Posted on June 15, 2020 by Joe Ahmad

There’s a curious byproduct from the COVID-19 economic crisis and business shutdown – a sharp increase in SEC whistleblower complaints and lawsuits filed by workers against employers. From mid-March to mid-May, the SEC reported approximately 4,000 whistleblower complaints, a 35 … Continue reading →

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Texas Appellate Court Goes the Extra Mile (literally) in Non-Compete Dispute, Expands Geographic Scope of Injunction

Posted on February 20, 2020 by Joe Ahmad

An appellate ruling from the Dallas Fifth Court of Appeals in January is an important read for those who closely follow Texas non-compete litigation.    The opinion in Richard Gehrke and Pacific Companies Inc. v Merritt Hawkins and Associates is a rare example … Continue reading →

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Harassment Skeletons in McDonald’s Closet Hasten CEO Steve Easterbrook Downfall 

Posted on November 8, 2019 by Joe Ahmad

Even by today’s standards of board oversight in the #MeToo era, the speed of McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook’s fall was breathtaking. In just four short years at the helm, Easterbrook was credited with nearly doubling the company’s share price and … Continue reading →

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Treatment of Trump-Ukraine Informer Could Have Chilling Effect on Corporate Whistleblowers 

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Joe Ahmad

Whistleblowers have a variety of understandable reasons for bravely coming forward – but winning a popularity contest is rarely one of them. After all, they are typically corporate or government insiders alleging fraud and wrongdoing, which tends to render them vulnerable … Continue reading →

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As Patent Litigation Wanes, Businesses Increasingly Turn to Trade Secret Law to Protect Digital Assets

Posted on August 14, 2019 by Joe Ahmad

The popular dating app platform Tinder and its parent company Match recently succeeded in having a patent infringement lawsuit tossed. Like many companies accused of infringement today, it accomplished this by going on the offensive and challenging the fundamental validity … Continue reading →

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