Beyond legal risk, trade secret disputes can result in catastrophic knock-on effects throughout a business: they can disrupt operations, drain technical teams, and affect investor confidence for years. This fireside chat looks at how in-house teams manage trade secret litigation when the stakes extend far beyond the courtroom.
- How litigation strategy changes when trade secret disputes become ‘bet-the-business’ matters.
- Managing discovery scope, technical witness fatigue, and internal disruption over multi-year disputes.
- Navigating investor relations, disclosure obligations, and activist pressure during ongoing litigation.
- Decision-making around settlement, arbitration, or escalation when business survival is at stake.
Brian Walters
Brian D. Walters serves as Executive Vice-President and General Counsel for Matthews International Corporation, Pittsburgh’s oldest company in continuous operation since 1850 and operating in over 25 countries with over 12,000 employees. During his 18-year tenure at Matthews, the Company has more than tripled in annual revenue, now producing approximately $1.8 billion in sales. Brian has directed all legal matters for this publicly-traded corporation both nationally and internationally, as well as serving as a member of Matthews’ executive leadership team. Mr. Walters has led over 75 domestic and foreign acquisition initiatives at Matthews, including extensive experience coordinating strategies to secure transaction approval from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, managing HSR filings, as well as filings with the competition authority of the European Union.
Rob Rodrigues
