Intellectual property • United States
Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Client SatisfactionLawyers
Dawn Mertineit
Seyfarth Shaw LLP, United States
- Phone(617) 946-4917
- Email[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