Seyfarth Shaw LLP

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

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.

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.

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

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