Dawn Mertineit > Seyfarth Shaw LLP > Washington DC, United States > Lawyer Profile

Seyfarth Shaw LLP Offices

Seyfarth Shaw LLP
975 F STREET, NW
WASHINGTON DC 20004
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
United States
Visit website 1 202 463 2400 1 202 828 5393

Dawn Mertineit

Dawn Mertineit photo
(617) 946-4917 [email protected]

Work Department

Commercial Litigation; Employment Agreements & Covenants; Real Estate Litigation; Securities & Fiduciary Duty Litigation; Trade Secrets, Computer Fraud & Non-Competes; Trial

Position

For more than a decade, Dawn Mertineit has represented corporations and their directors and officers in a number of industries in complex commercial litigation, litigating partnership, franchise, real estate, and whistleblower disputes, with a special emphasis on noncompete and trade secrets litigation. She understands that many clients rely on noncompete and nonsolicitation agreements to protect their most valuable assets, while others face hurdles in recruiting and onboarding new employees bound by such restrictive covenants. Dawn brings her experience and knowledge of state and federal laws to help her clients navigate these issues, from drafting agreements and executing rollout and enforcement strategies, to analyzing competitor agreements and proposing recruitment and onboarding plans and prosecuting or defending against claims related to breach of restrictive covenants or misappropriation of trade secrets.

Career

Dawn represents clients in trade secret and noncompete matters in a number of jurisdictions. This cross-state knowledge is particularly critical, as states continue to pass new legislation relevant to restrictive covenants and trade secrets. As the co-editor of and a frequent contributor to Seyfarth’s award-winning Trading Secrets blog, Dawn remains current with new laws and key developments in this space and provides clients with crucial updates about the laws that affect their businesses. In light of her thought leadership in this area, Dawn has been quoted in a number of legal and industry publications, including Bloomberg Law, Law360, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, and SC Magazine.

In litigating all manner of disputes, Dawn provides practical advice and creative solutions, which play a critical role in helping her clients navigate costly and time-consuming litigation with minimal disruption to their businesses. She also helps clients avoid litigation when desired, allowing them to focus on their businesses rather than litigation.

Dawn enjoys working at Seyfarth because it allows her to collaborate with attorneys she describes as “smart, hard-working, and down-to-earth”—and who also provide practical, efficient solutions to complex legal issues. She is also proud to be the pro bono coordinator for the Boston office, as well as a member of the Diversity & Inclusion team.

Memberships

  • American Bar Association, content editor for the Business Torts and Unfair Competition Committee
  • American Bar Association, co-chair of the Woman Advocate Committee’s Intellectual Property Subcommittee
  • Intellectual Property Owners Association, Vice Chair of Trade Secrets Committee
  • ITechLaw Association, World Technology Law Conference local planning committee, panel curator, 2019
  • Boston Bar Association
  • American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA)
  • Women’s Bar Association

Education

  • JD, Boston University School of Law
    Cum laude
    Honors in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Concentration
    Journal of Science and Technology Law, managing editor
    Criminal Clinic student prosecutor
  • BA, Colby College
    Magna cum laude
    Distinction in French

Lawyer Rankings

United States > Intellectual property > Trade secrets (litigation and non-contentious matters)

(Leading partners)

Dawn Mertineit – Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Complex IP litigation, alleged misappropriations and breaches of contract are mainstays of the trade secrets offering at Seyfarth Shaw LLP which is well-equipped to assist its sector-spanning client portfolio, which includes significant names from the pharma, medical devices, tech and healthcare spheres in particular. Team leads are Michael Wexler who is based in Chicago, Robert Milligan who works from the Los Angeles hub and Katherine Perrelli in the Boston office. Wexler has expertise handling tech-related work including electric vehicles, medical devices and remote storage-related cases; Milligan assists multinational corporations with trade secret, non-compete and data protection work; while Perrelli has a specialism in the enforcement of restrictive covenants and NDAs. Jesse Coleman in Houston has a particular focus on related healthcare disputes, while Dawn Mertineit in Boston is an authority in litigation. Joshua Salinas is a standout associate in LA. Commercial litigation specialists Jesse Miller and Jennifer Fearnow, formerly of Reed Smith LLP, have bolstered the team in San Francisco. Notably, trade secrets specialist Gary Friedman joined the New York team from Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP in February 2024.

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