What to do next
Common situations
A salesperson leaves for a competitor and your clients follow within weeks. A developer departs and a rival product appears with familiar architecture. A departing executive forwards documents to a personal account before resigning. A contractor finishes an engagement and reuses your material for the next client. Each is a different legal analysis, but all share the same first task.
Preserve the evidence you lawfully hold - immediately
Suspend routine deletion on company email, file storage and backups. Preserve access, download and export logs from systems you control, and secure any company device that has been returned. Do this before anything else: log retention windows are often 30 to 90 days, and the evidence simply ceases to exist after that. **Only use records and systems your organisation owns and is entitled to access** - do not attempt to reach the person's personal accounts, devices or communications, and take advice before examining anything where the position is unclear.
When to speak with a lawyer
Now, if any of the following apply: confidential material appears to have left the business, a competitor has launched something suspiciously similar, clients are moving in a pattern, or you are considering an injunction. Urgency is itself part of the legal test - delay weakens an injunction application even where the underlying facts are strong.
Types of lawyers who handle this
An IP or trade secrets litigator leads, frequently with an employment lawyer where the departure raises contractual issues and a digital forensics specialist for the technical evidence. For senior departures, commercial litigation experience matters because fiduciary duty is often the stronger claim.
What to prepare
Employment or contractor agreement including confidentiality and IP assignment terms, any policies the person acknowledged, a timeline of the departure, access and download logs, correspondence, and a description of what the information is and why it is confidential. Note what steps your business took to keep it confidential - courts protect information that was actually treated as confidential.
Possible legal pathways
A demand letter and undertakings resolve a meaningful share of these. Where use is ongoing, an injunction and preservation order may be sought, though both require prompt action and clean evidence. A claim can also be brought against the new employer for inducing breach or knowing receipt, which tends to concentrate minds. Outcomes depend entirely on the facts and evidence.
Frequently asked questions
Is my non-compete enforceable?
It varies significantly by jurisdiction and several now restrict non-competes heavily. Confidentiality and non-solicitation obligations are generally far more enforceable, and breach of confidence does not depend on a clause at all.
Can I look at their personal email or phone?
No. Accessing accounts, devices or communications you have no right to can itself be unlawful and will damage your position badly. Work from records your organisation owns, and let your lawyer pursue disclosure through proper legal process.
How quickly do I need to act?
Days. System logs are commonly overwritten within 30 to 90 days, and delay undermines an injunction application independently of the merits.
Is a customer list actually confidential?
Often, where it was treated as confidential and is not publicly available. How you protected it in practice - access controls, marking, contractual terms - matters as much as what it contains.
Which court hears this?
The superior court of the province, and for urgent relief the same court on an application. Where the agreement contains an arbitration clause, that may govern instead - check before filing.
This is general information, not legal advice. Laws vary by location and every situation is different — speak with a qualified lawyer about your specific circumstances.