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Practice Areas: Business Litigation; Employment Litigation; Trade Secrets; Intellectual Property Litigation; Zoning and Planning Litigation

Additional Information: New Hampshire and New York State Bar Associations.

Phi Beta Kappa; Order of the Coif. Member, Syracuse University Law Review.

Linehan v. Rockingham County Commissioners, 151 N.H. 276 (2004); Cricklewood on the Bellamy Condominium Association v. Bellamy River Village LLC, 147 N.H. 733 (2002); City of Portsmouth v. Schlesinger, 140 N.H. 733 (1996); City of Portsmouth v. Schlesinger, 57 F.3d 12 (1st Cir. 1995).

Chris has successfully handled cases involving trade secrets related to: software and software applications; the alleged misuse of company proprietary information and predatory employee hiring; trademark and trade dress infringement in connection with the look and feel of graphical user interfaces and consumer product packaging; and numerous other business, employee and employment related disputes.

In addition, he frequently writes and speaks on the protection of intellectual property and the enforcement of employee non-competition and confidentiality agreements. He also is active in shareholder and partnership disputes and commercial disputes and legislation.

He has represented clients in litigation in New Hampshire, New York, Texas, Illinois, California, Maine, Vermont and Massachusetts. From 1988 to 1989, Chris was law clerk to Judge Richard J. Cardamone of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and, thereafter, was an associate at the firm of White & Case in New York City. He has practiced with Sheehan Phinney since 1991.
Sample Matters

* The NH Supreme Court affirmed a judgment in favor of two mortgage companies and their principals, who were accused of trade secret misappropriation and misuse of supposed confidential information by a former employer. The court also reversed a very substantial post-trial award of monetary sanctions against Sheehan’s clients.

* In a recent case alleging, among many other claims, the misappropriation of trade secrets, Chris and partner Bob Lucic first convinced the Court to dismiss six other common law and statutory claims against our clients. After a six-day jury trial, Chris and Bob received a defendants’ verdict from the jury, which found that the our opponent had not proved the existence of a trade secret under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act.

* Successfully defended founders, key employees and a publicly-traded software company in the defense of $1 billion trade secret, breach of fiduciary duty and contract claims in Chicago.

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Firm Members: John-Mark Turner