Your Trade Secrets Are Already at Risk: Litigation-Ready Defense Against AI Scraping, Prompt Injection, and Reverse Engineering

James (Jim) Pooley, Founder | James Pooley PLC

James (Jim) Pooley is one of the world’s foremost authorities on trade secret law and management. With a career spanning more than fifty years rooted in Silicon Valley, he brings an unmatched combination of litigation experience, scholarly authorship, international diplomacy, and organizational leadership to the protection and strategic use of confidential business information. Mr. Pooley serves clients as an expert witness, trusted advisor, litigator, and neutral in complex trade secret and intellectual property disputes.

Education & Credentials

• Mr. Pooley holds a Juris Doctor from Columbia University Law School (1973) and a Bachelor of Arts, with honors, from Lafayette College (1970). He is admitted to practice in California and has served as adjunct professor of law, teaching trade secret law at UC Berkeley School of Law for many years.

Recognition & Leadership

• Mr. Pooley’s contributions to intellectual property law have earned him the field’s highest honors. In 2016, he was inducted into the IP Hall of Fame — the first trade secret specialist to receive the distinction. In 2017, Managing Intellectual Property honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award, and he subsequently received a Lifetime Achievement Award from The Sedona Conference for his foundational work in trade secret jurisprudence. His leadership has shaped the profession at the national and international levels. He served as President of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA), the first trade secret specialist elected to lead the organization. He also served as Chairman of the selection board of the National Inventors Hall of Fame, founding Chair (now Chair Emeritus) of The Sedona Conference Working Group 12 on Trade Secrets, and Co-Chair of the Trade Secret Task Force of the International Chamber of Commerce. From 2009 to 2014, Mr. Pooley held the position of Deputy Director General for Innovation and Technology at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, where he managed the international patent system (PCT) and oversaw a staff of more than 400 professionals from 60 countries.

Professional Involvement

• Mr. Pooley is actively engaged in advancing trade secret law and policy worldwide. He was instrumental in the passage of the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA), having helped draft the legislation and provided expert testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. He continues to serve as Co-Chair of the ICC Trade Secret Task Force and remains involved with The Sedona Conference as Chair Emeritus of Working Group 12. He is an active lecturer, keynote speaker, and commentator on trade secret and intellectual property developments, frequently contributing to legal publications and industry forums.

Experience

• Mr. Pooley has served as primary counsel on more than 200 trade secret matters and approximately 25 patent cases over the course of his career. As a senior partner at several prominent law firms, he built a nationally recognized practice in trade secret and patent litigation. His successful jury defense of Adobe Systems as lead trial counsel in the first major software patent case tried to verdict was selected by the National Law Journal as the only intellectual property case among its Top Defense Verdicts of 1997. In 2003, California Lawyer named him Lawyer of the Year in recognition of a $90 million technology copyright settlement he secured on behalf of ESS Technology. Mr. Pooley is a prolific author whose works are considered essential references for judges, lawyers, and business professionals. His treatise Trade Secrets (Law Journal Press), updated semi-annually, is the leading practitioner’s desk reference in the field. He coauthored the Patent Case Management Judicial Guide and the Trade Secret Case Management Judicial Guide, both published by the Federal Judicial Center. His business book Secrets: Managing Information Assets in the Age of Cyberespionage — now in its second edition (2024) and translated into Mandarin by Tsinghua University Press — addresses the escalating challenges of protecting corporate information in a hyperconnected world. He also conceived and scripted an instructional patent video shown to juries throughout the United States. Today, Mr. Pooley operates a private practice focused on litigation strategy, expert witnessing, arbitration, and information security counseling, continuing to provide seasoned, independent guidance on the most complex and consequential trade secret matters.

Randall E. Kahnke, Partner | Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Randall (Randy) E. Kahnke is a nationally recognized trial lawyer and partner at Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP in Minneapolis. A Chambers-ranked litigator listed in Best Lawyers in America for betthe-company litigation, he concentrates his practice on complex commercial disputes and intellectual property litigation, with particular depth in trade secret law. Mr. Kahnke has served as lead trial attorney on high-stakes matters spanning three continents, representing Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies across the financial services, technology, health and life sciences, and food and agribusiness sectors.

Education & Credentials

• Mr. Kahnke earned his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1989, where he served as Note and Comment Editor of the Law Review. He received his Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, from the University of St. Thomas in 1986, where he was inducted into the Delta Epsilon Sigma, Omicron Delta Epsilon, and Pi Gamma Mu national honor societies. Following law school, he served as a federal law clerk to the Honorable David S. Doty of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota (1989–1991). He is admitted to practice in Minnesota and before the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second, Eighth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits, as well as the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.

Recognition & Leadership

• Mr. Kahnke’s courtroom achievements have earned him widespread recognition. Minnesota Lawyer named him an Attorney of the Year in 2012 and again in 2025 in recognition of his trial victories. He is a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America and has been consistently ranked among the nation’s leading litigators by Chambers USA (General Commercial Litigation and, most recently, Nationwide Trade Secrets), The Legal 500, Benchmark Litigation, Super Lawyers, and Best Lawyers in America — where he has been recognized in Commercial Litigation (2009–2026), Intellectual Property Litigation (2013–2026), and Bet-the-Company Litigation (2022–2026). World IP Review has recommended him for U.S. trade secrets, and Minnesota Lawyer has placed him on its Business Litigation Power List (2022–2025) and its Mergers & Acquisitions Power List (2023–2024). He has also received the John C. Benson Pro Bono Award and earned a place on Faegre Drinker’s Pro Bono Honor Roll.

Professional Involvement

• Mr. Kahnke is deeply engaged in the legal profession and the broader community. He serves as President of the Honorable Jimmie V. Reyna Intellectual Property Inn of Court and was a founding member of The Sedona Conference Working Group on Trade Secrets, where he served on its inaugural Steering Committee. He is a member of the Intellectual Property Owners Association’s Trade Secrets Committee. Mr. Kahnke has served as Co-Chair of the Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Panel and as a member of the Federal Practice Committee for the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, and as President of the Minnesota Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. He is a prolific author and sought-after speaker. He coedited the treatise Trade Secrets (Law Journal Press) with former WIPO Deputy Director General James Pooley, and co-edited and contributed to The Secrets to Winning Trade Secret Cases (Thomson West). He co-authored The Intangible Advantage: Understanding Intellectual Property in the New Economy (Michelson 20MM Foundation, 2016) and has published extensively in legal journals and national media. He is an invited lecturer at the University of Minnesota Law School and the University of St. Thomas Law School. In the community, Mr. Kahnke serves as a board member of one of the Twin Cities’ largest providers of services to the homeless, volunteers with Interfaith Outreach Community Partners, serves on the University of Minnesota Law Alumni Committee, and has served as a youth coach for multiple local athletic associations.

Experience

• Throughout his career, Mr. Kahnke has tried and won high-profile matters for many of the nation’s most prominent companies. His representative clients include 3M, Allianz, Boston Scientific, Cargill, CommScope, FICO, General Mills, Honeywell, IBM, Target, UnitedHealth Group, and Wells Fargo. He has served as group head of Faegre Drinker’s business litigation practice. His track record includes securing multimillion-dollar jury verdicts in trade secret cases on behalf of Fortune 100 clients, winning complete defense verdicts in federal trials, prevailing on appeals before the Ninth Circuit in international trade secret disputes valued in excess of $100 million, and obtaining a favorable resolution at the start of trial in a negligence case seeking $5.2 billion plus punitive damages — a matter featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. He also played a key trial testimony role in a six-year, billion-dollar pharmaceutical trade secret dispute that resulted in a permanent injunction and was reported on the front page of the National Law Journal. His practice spans litigation, arbitration, and international commercial disputes, and he regularly advises clients on trade secrets and noncompete matters across multiple industries.

Anna E. Sallstrom, Partner | Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Anna E. Sallstrom is a partner at Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP in Minneapolis, where she focuses her practice on trade secret protection and antitrust litigation. A former federal law clerk, Department of Justice trial attorney, and computer programmer, she brings a distinctive combination of technical fluency, government enforcement experience, and courtroom skill to complex commercial and intellectual property disputes. Ms. Sallstrom is recognized by Best Lawyers in America and is a trusted advisor to companies navigating the intersection of trade secret strategy, antitrust compliance, and technology law.

Education & Credentials

• Ms. Sallstrom earned her Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School in 2014, where she served as Editor-inChief of the Stanford Technology Law Review and graduated with Pro Bono Distinction. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science, magna cum laude and with distinction in her major, from Carleton College (2009), where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She is admitted to practice in Minnesota and California and before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Following law school, she served as a law clerk to the Honorable Raymond C. Clevenger III on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (2014–2015).

Recognition & Leadership

• Ms. Sallstrom has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America as “One to Watch” in Mergers and Acquisitions Law (2024–2026) and Alternative Dispute Resolution (2026). She currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Minnesota State Bar Association’s Antitrust Section Council. Her combined background in computer science, federal government litigation, and appellate clerkship positions her as a rising leader in the trade secret and antitrust fields.

Professional Involvement

• Ms. Sallstrom is an active contributor to the legal profession through both her writing and speaking engagements. She is a coauthor of the leading Trade Secrets treatise (Law Journal Press) and publishes regularly on trade secret and antitrust developments in outlets including Law360. She speaks frequently on topics ranging from noncompete and trade secret law to antitrust compliance for businesses and trade associations, and has presented CLE webinars on developments under the Defend Trade Secrets Act, the FTC’s noncompete rulemaking, and merger review. She also contributes to Faegre Drinker’s LaborSphere blog.

Experience

• Before joining Faegre Drinker in 2019, Ms. Sallstrom served as a trial attorney with the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, where she litigated merger challenges, led merger reviews, and conducted antitrust investigations. This government experience informs her current practice advising clients on DOJ and FTC enforcement actions, securing merger clearance from federal regulators, and counseling on pricing, distribution, and trade association compliance. In her trade secret practice, Ms. Sallstrom advises companies proactively on trade secret protection policies, investigates potential misappropriation, and litigates trade secret disputes through trial and arbitration. Her background as a computer programmer gives her a distinctive technical perspective, particularly in cases involving software and other technology-related trade secrets. She was a member of the trial team that secured a multimillion-dollar jury verdict for a Fortune 100 client on claims of tortious interference with contracts protecting trade secrets and confidential information, and was part of the Faegre Drinker team that won a critical jury trial for Honeywell in an Ohio trade secrets case. More recently, she was part of the team that won trial for Surmodics in a high-profile merger challenge brought by the FTC.

  Ms. Sallstrom’s practice spans the litigation, antitrust, commercial disputes, and trade secrets and noncompetes groups at Faegre Drinker, with a particular focus on the technology sector.

SESSION 1 – AI Trade Secrets: Protection Beyond Reverse Engineering | 1:00pm – 2:00pm

This session explores how AI transforms trade secret law, covering misappropriation under DTSA/UTSA, reverse engineering defenses, emerging threats from insiders and third parties, reasonable protective measures, and litigation readiness strategies in an evolving technological landscape.

Break | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

SESSION 2 – When AI Data Access Becomes Trade Secret Misappropriation | 2:10pm – 3:10pm

This session examines when scraping public data constitutes improper means under trade secret law, analyzes key circuit authority, and explores prompt injection and AI model extraction as emerging reverse engineering threats with evolving evidentiary challenges.