Fisher Phillips Continues Expansion in Pennsylvania with Prominent Trade Secrets and Technology Attorney

Fisher Phillips, one of the country’s preeminent labor and employment law firms representing employers, announces the addition of Dave Walton as a partner in the firm’s Philadelphia office.

Prior to joining Fisher Phillips, Walton was a shareholder at an international law firm where he established himself as one of the leading trade secrets lawyers in the country.  Walton has been nationally recognized for his trade secret and restrictive covenant litigation work. He regularly handles high-stakes cases and secured what is believed to be the largest jury award ever for a claim under the Pennsylvania Uniform Trade Secrets Act. He has extensive experience successfully handling large trade secret and mass employee mobility cases that involve 50+ depositions and multi-week trials.  He regularly handles these matters and his experience includes numerous matters against some of the largest and most well-known firms in the country. 

In addition to his active litigation practice, Walton built his prior firm’s Electronic Discovery Group virtually from scratch into a profitable and key strategic firm asset. He was also a member of the Labor and Employment group, was former co-chair of the firm’s Privacy, Data and Cybersecurity Group, and was heavily involved in legal innovation. Overall, Walton brings more than two decades of experience in labor and employment law, trade secrets, restrictive covenants, electronic discovery, privacy, data security, computer forensics and high-stakes employment litigation. At Fisher Phillips, Walton expands the firm’s Employee Defection and Trade Secrets and Privacy and Cyber practices, as well as the firm’s growing eDiscovery team.  He also handles cybersecurity breaches and privacy litigation and advises clients on the development of cybersecurity policies and protocols.

Walton adds yet further talent, experience, and depth to Fisher Phillips’ trade secret litigation team that, in a recent docket study by legal analytics firm Lex Machina, was identified as having appeared as counsel in more trade secrets cases in federal court than any other law firm in the country. Walton is a key addition to an already deep team that has prosecuted and defended trade secrets actions across its 36 offices nationwide. He adds valuable jury trial experience and a uniquely sophisticated understanding of how to harness emerging technologies and data analytics to enhance the delivery of legal services.   

“As trade secret litigation and the demand for protecting business-critical information has increased over the past year, Dave’s unique mix of trade secret and restrictive covenant litigation, data security experience, and employment law knowledge will be a great asset to our clients across the country,” said Susan Guerette, co-chair of Fisher Phillips’ Employee Defection and Trade Secrets practice.

Walton is a frequent speaker at national conferences on trade secret litigation, digital forensics, e-discovery and cyber law, and has published numerous articles on these topics. He earned his J.D., with honors, from University of Richmond School of Law and his B.S. from Ithaca College. Walton has a Certification in Business Analytics from the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton.

“Dave is a rare breed of attorney. First and foremost, he is a great trial lawyer and litigator, especially for trade secret and covenant cases. But he also has a strong technical background in eDiscovery, Cybersecurity, and data analytics,” added Chris Stief, Regional Managing Partner of Fisher Phillips’ Philadelphia office. “His unique background will be extremely valuable for employers and for our growing team here in Pennsylvania as we are emerging from the pandemic.”  

Fisher Phillips has experienced steady growth in its Philadelphia and Pittsburgh offices. Walton is the 10th attorney to join the firm in Pennsylvania during the past twelve months, joining shortly after the arrival of Wendy Hughes, the firm’s first full-time eDiscovery partner. Partners Brian Casal and Brian Balonick, and associate Deniz Reilly round out the firm’s expansion in 2021. James Glunt joined Fisher Phillips in 2020 as a partner in Pittsburgh and Raeann Burgo and Erica Wilson joined as of counsel and associate, respectively. Karen Odash and Stephanie Robin recently joined the firm’s Philadelphia office as first-year associates.