Mr. T. Christopher Donnelly

T Christopher DonnellyCommunity LiaisonEmail : tcd@dcglaw.com

But the Rules of Civil Procedure do not require that trade secrets need to be pled with particularity, explained Boston attorney T. Christopher Donnelly, who represents both plaintiffs and defendants in such matters.

"So the approach on the plaintiff side is to describe the trade secret generally and seek discovery.Then, if the other side resists, offer to disclose to the judge in camera what the trade secret is," advised Donnelly.

"Sometimes as a plaintiff you get a bad rap because you haven't described [the trade secret] with particularity, but if it's truly a secret, it cannot be publicly revealed," he stressed.

Donnelly explained that the Uniform Rules of Impoundment would require a writing, but he believes that many judges would be flexible enough to allow the disclosure to be done orally instead, in light of the importance of keeping a secret private.
...
Donnelly suggested that an "attorney's eyes only" disclosure is an option, but one fraught with controversy.

"There's usually a big fight because the typical and understandable response is that the attorney can't deal with it alone.He has to be able to let the client in on it," he said.
...
Donnelly explained that "it's often negotiated down to the attorney and then one or two people on the client's side who have to personally sign the protective order."

T. Christopher DonnellyDonnelly, Conroy and Gelhaar, LLP, Biography - T. Christopher Donnelly
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T. Christopher Donnelly

T. Christopher Donnelly concentrates his practice in business litigation, particularly in the fields of intellectual property including patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets; software, biotechnology and other scientific and technological areas; business torts; securities; contracts; corporate control and governance; covenants not-to-compete and related claims of unlawful competition; employment disputes; and accounting and other professional malpractice.Since co-founding DCG, Mr. Donnelly has successfully tried numerous commercial cases, spanning more than 125 trial days, and successfully resolved countless others on dispositive motions and through favorable settlements.

In addition to his broad litigation practice in state and federal courts around the country, Mr. Donnelly has extensive arbitration and mediation experience.He has served as an arbitrator in more than 85 cases, has been a member of the American Arbitration Association Panel of Commercial Arbitrators since 1989, and is on the National Arbitration Forum Panel of Arbitrators.Mr. Donnelly also serves as a mediator of business disputes.

A former senior partner of the Boston law firm of Nutter, McClennen & Fish, Mr. Donnelly chaired that firm's Technology Litigation Practice Group, co-chaired its Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice Group, and served as its hiring partner.

Mr. Donnelly is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.After earning his law degree, with honors, at the University of Michigan Law School in 1980, he clerked for the Hon. Lawrence W. Pierce in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and then in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Mr. Donnelly has lectured and published widely in the fields of commercial litigation and intellectual property law.His most recent publications and appearances covered fraud, trade dress law, business torts, intra-corporate disputes, and reviews of the latest patent, trademark and copyright developments within the First Circuit.Mr. Donnelly is an active member of the Boston Bar Association's Business Litigation, Intellectual Property Litigation, and Alternative Dispute Resolution Committees; and the American Bar Association Sections of Litigation, Business Law and Science and Technology Committees; and a former member of the Business Law Council of the Massachusetts Bar Association.

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T. Christopher Donnelly (617) 720-2880 x.17 tcd@dcglaw.com

T. Christopher Donnelly

T Christopher Donnelly, Esq. Donnelly, Conroy & Gelhaar LLP, Boston, MA

T. Christopher Donnelly, of the Boston law firm of Donnelly, Conroy & Gelhaar, is "enormously pleased by this result.

T. Christopher Donnelly, Donnelly, Conroy & Gelhaar, Boston, Massachusetts, for the defendants-appellees.
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Mr. T. Christopher Donnelly

Donnelly, Conroy & Gelhaar

One Post Office Square

Boston, ML 02109-2105

Re: Martha Robi V. Herbert Reed, ct al.No. 99-363

T. Christopher Donnelly, of the Boston law firm of Donnelly, Conroy & Gelhaar, LLP, is "enormously pleased by this result.

But the Rules of Civil Procedure do not require that trade secrets need to be pled with particularity, explained Boston attorney T. Christopher Donnelly, who represents both plaintiffs and defendants in such matters.

"So the approach on the plaintiff side is to describe the trade secret generally and seek discovery.Then, if the other side resists, offer to disclose to the judge in camera what the trade secret is," advised Donnelly.

"Sometimes as a plaintiff you get a bad rap because you haven't described [the trade secret] with particularity, but if it's truly a secret, it cannot be publicly revealed," he stressed.

Donnelly explained that the Uniform Rules of Impoundment would require a writing, but he believes that many judges would be flexible enough to allow the disclosure to be done orally instead, in light of the importance of keeping a secret private.
...
Donnelly suggested that an "attorney's eyes only" disclosure is an option, but one fraught with controversy.

"There's usually a big fight because the typical and understandable response is that the attorney can't deal with it alone.He has to be able to let the client in on it," he said.
...
Donnelly explained that "it's often negotiated down to the attorney and then one or two people on the client's side who have to personally sign the protective order."

But the Rules of Civil Procedure do not require that trade secrets need to be pled with particularity, explained Boston attorney T. Christopher Donnelly, who represents both plaintiffs and defendants in such matters.

"So the approach on the plaintiff side is to describe the trade secret generally and seek discovery.Then, if the other side resists, offer to disclose to the judge in camera what the trade secret is," advised Donnelly.

"Sometimes as a plaintiff you get a bad rap because you haven,t described [the trade secret] with particularity, but if it,s truly a secret, it cannot be publicly revealed," he stressed.

Donnelly explained that the Uniform Rules of Impoundment would require a writing, but he believes that many judges would be flexible enough to allow the disclosure to be done orally instead, in light of the importance of keeping a secret private.
...
Donnelly suggested that an "attorney,s eyes only" disclosure is an option, but one fraught with controversy.

"There,s usually a big fight because the typical and understandable response is that the attorney can,t deal with it alone.He has to be able to let the client in on it," he said.
...
Donnelly explained that "it,s often negotiated down to the attorney and then one or two people on the client,s side who have to personally sign the protective order."