IP Law: Trade Secrets

First and foremost, when trying to find case precedent for any state law related trade secret issue, begin with the 50-state survey series. Second, Lexis, Westlaw, and Bloomberg all have practical law pages devoted to trade secret issues. These are also great places to find the most commonly referenced and prevalent cases. Further, unless the state in question is New York, find the states version of the UTSA on West, Lexis, or Bloomberg and use the relevant citators (KeyCite, Shepherds, and Smart Code) to find cases that cited to the code. 

For federal cases, again, use the relevant statute and find citing cases discussing the relevant issues again by using the various citators provided by your preferred legal database. Under their Trade Secrets resource page, Bloomberg provides links to relevant opinions & decisions such as the USPQ Trade Secret Opinions, U.S. Supreme Court Trade Secretion opinions, U.S. Circuit Court opinions, and U.S. District opinions. Similarly, WestLaw Key numbers (under 29T Antitrust and trade regulation and then k410-k449 Trade Secrets and Proprietary information) can help researchers find a plethora of useful cases by topic. Further, the Restatements (both Torts and Unfair Competition) provide lists of relevant cases and the online versions provide links to cases that referenced the restatements. And of course, the American Law Reports (or A.L.R) are always gold minds for finding cases covering a specific issue in trade secret law. 

The key is ensuring your research terms are well defined, you know your jurisdiction, and are organized. Once you have performed your preliminary analysis and reviewed the relevant statutes, finding the necessary case law should develop quickly.