Best Lawyers Near You in Santa Ana, California for Trade Secrets Law

With nearly 200,000 licensed attorneys across a state known for its massive industries, progressive laws and regional differences, finding the right legal help in California can feel overwhelming. Whether you’re facing a business dispute in Silicon Valley or a custody battle in San Diego, it’s critical to find a lawyer in California who not only understands the law but understands how it works where you live.

That’s where Best Lawyers comes in. Our platform is more than just a directory. Every lawyer listed has been thoroughly vetted through a rigorous peer-review process, so you can search with confidence no matter what practice area you need.

Using the Best Lawyers Directory in California

The Best Lawyers directory makes it easy to find top-rated legal talent across California’s many regions and industries. You can search by:

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Each listed attorney has been recognized in the most recent edition of The Best Lawyers in America®, a distinction earned through extensive peer feedback and professional evaluation. That means every name you see has already earned the respect of their colleagues—and likely their adversaries, too.

If you need to find a lawyer in California without wasting time on unverified referrals or endless Google results, start here. Our listings provide clear, up-to-date profiles that help you narrow down your options quickly.

California-Specific Legal Needs and Practice Areas

California law can be tricky. You need someone who knows the ropes. The state is a national leader in tech innovation, environmental regulation and entertainment law—and its legal landscape reflects that. Attorneys here must stay up to date not only with federal law but with fast-evolving state statutes, administrative rulings and court precedents.

Some of the most common practice areas where Californians seek legal help include:

  • Real estate law, especially in high-cost markets like Los Angeles, San Francisco and Orange County
  • Family law, including divorce, child custody and support disputes, all governed by California’s unique family code
  • Tech and IP law, a major concern for startups and established firms alike in the Bay Area and beyond
  • Entertainment and media law, vital for clients in Los Angeles and surrounding creative hubs
  • Environmental and land use law, which is especially important in light of California’s extensive regulations on development, conservation and climate compliance

California also has strict state bar licensing rules, making it essential to choose an attorney who is not just experienced in the area of law you need, but also well-versed in local procedures and precedent. That’s why using a trusted directory like Best Lawyers—where every listing has local context and professional vetting—can make the difference.

How to Find a Good Lawyer in California

Finding a good lawyer in California feels daunting. With so many billboards and online ads, don’t feel bad if you don’t know where to turn. The best results come from approaching your search with intention. Here are key things to consider:

  • Know your legal issue. Attorneys often specialize. Make sure you’re looking within the right practice area.
  • Check credentials. Always confirm that a lawyer is licensed and in good standing with the State Bar of California.
  • Evaluate experience. Ask about similar cases the attorney has handled, especially in your city or county.
  • Ask the right questions. When interviewing lawyers, consider asking:
    • What is your experience with this specific type of case?
    • How do you communicate with clients during the process?
    • What outcomes have you achieved in similar matters?
  • Read peer and client feedback. While reviews can be helpful, peer recognition carries additional weight. Lawyers know the strengths—and weaknesses—of their colleagues better than anyone else.

Choosing the right legal partner isn’t just about skill. It’s about trust, communication and shared expectations. That’s why using a curated directory that highlights attorneys recommended by their peers can help you filter out guesswork.

Why Peer Recognition Matters in Your Search

The Best Lawyers selection process is rooted in peer recognition—a factor that sets us apart from other platforms. Here’s how it works:

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In a field where reputation is everything, recognition from fellow attorneys carries exceptional value. It tells you a lawyer is respected not just by clients, but by those who face them in court or collaborate with them on deals.

Start Your Search with Confidence

Whether you’re seeking representation for a business dispute, criminal matter, estate plan or high-asset divorce, California’s legal market offers no shortage of options. But knowing how to find a lawyer in California—one who brings both credibility and local expertise—is the key to moving forward with clarity.

At Best Lawyers, we make it easier to connect with attorneys who have already earned the respect of their peers. You can explore by practice area, browse by city or search for a specific lawyer using our intuitive filters. No matter where you are in the Golden State, trusted legal help is just a click away.

Find a lawyer in California today and move forward with confidence—backed by a directory built on excellence and trust.

Practice Area Overview

Fueled by the ability to electronically capture and disseminate information in a matter of mere milliseconds, trade secrets are increasingly difficult to keep. This form of intellectual property is nonetheless among a company’s most important assets. Properly protected and applied, trade secrets can contribute to the success of a company’s business model. In the absence of sound safeguards and security policies, the likely misappropriation of trade secrets can as easily lead to its downfall.

Trade secrets include, but are not limited to, formulas, developmental processes, product designs, customer lists, and marketing data. A trade secret (1) derives economic value, actual or potential, because it is not generally known and cannot be readily ascertained by proper means by persons who can obtain economic value from its disclosure or use and (2) is the subject of efforts to maintain its secrecy that are reasonable under the circumstances. While patents can protect an invention for a certain period of time, trade secrets can last as long as they are protected.

Trade secrets are the frequent target of appropriation by improper means, such as theft, bribery, misrepresentation, espionage, or breach or inducement of a breach of duty to maintain secrecy.

Attorneys provide both counseling on the identification and protection of proprietary information and litigation services in instances of alleged misappropriation of proprietary information.

Counseling

Attorneys assist in the development and implementation of trade secret protection plans. These invariably include the use of non-disclosure agreements signed by company executives and employees. Strong plans also rely on written policies that help employees identify and protect a company’s trade secrets, demonstrate management’s commitment to that objective, and provide notice to third parties that certain information is claimed as trade secrets. Plan implementation is especially important as courts emphasize strong, genuine efforts over boilerplate forms and unenforced policy statements.

Litigation

Trade secret and unfair competition claims are prosecuted and defended in various courtrooms and arbitration forums throughout the United States and internationally. A thorough understanding of proprietary information, including manufacturing methods, algorithms, process equipment, and software is essential to the development and execution of a litigation strategy that successfully advances client objectives.

While trade secret law has developed from state common law, regulation is now standard and addresses both civil and criminal liability. The Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA) codified and harmonized standards and remedies for commercial claims. Forty-seven states and the District of Columbia have adopted its framework. On the other hand, the federal Economic Espionage Act of 1996 criminalized the theft of trade secrets related to national security and for commercial purposes.
Daniel McMahon, Partner Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker

Corporate Law & Commercial Litigation Legal Guide 2025

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Our Methodology

Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.

The Process

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