Overview

Elisabeth S. Gray is a litigator whose practice focuses on unfair competition, including disclosure of trade secrets and enforcing non-competition and non-solicitation agreements. She has also maintained a high familiarity with eDiscovery and related technology in order to provide defensible eDiscovery solutions for clients, as well as using eDiscovery to the client’s advantage in seeking and obtaining eDiscovery from opposing parties. She has successfully obtained numerous court orders requiring the forensic examination of computers, smart phones, and other electronic devices. Ms. Gray is Adjunct Faculty and teaches an e-Discovery class in the College of Legal Studies at Sullivan University.

She also serves as the Chair of the litigation practice group at Middleton Reutlinger, and is Chair-Elect of the Louisville Bar Association Litigation Section. Because of her vast experience with business litigation, Ms. Gray was selected by the Kentucky Supreme Court to serve on the Business Court Pilot Project beginning in 2019. Ms. Gray has tried several commercial litigation cases through judgment in both jury and bench trials, and has been lead counsel in a number of injunction and other evidentiary hearings.

In addition to her unfair competition practice, Ms. Gray has a range of experience, including IP litigation, complex contractual disputes, real estate litigation, health care litigation, bankruptcy court adversary proceedings, and other general commercial litigation. Ms. Gray has trial experience in state and federal courts, as well as arbitration tribunals including the NASD (now FINRA) and the AAA. Her practice includes appellate work at all levels.

Honors & Awards

Chambers USA 2020: Selected for inclusion in America's Leading Lawyers for Business in the area of Litigation: General Commercial
Chair Elect, Louisville Bar Association, Litigation Section, 2020
Chair, Louisville Bar Association, Litigation Section, 2021
Jefferson County Business Court Pilot Project, Committee Member, 2019-Present
AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell®
Best Lawyers in America®, Commercial Litigation, 2020 and 2021
Kentucky Super Lawyers® 2010 - 2021 in Business Litigation
- Kentucky Top 50 Attorneys, 2019 - 2021
- Top 25 Women Attorneys in Kentucky, 2019 - 2021
Benchmark Litigation, the Guide to America’s Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys, Intellectual Property, 2017-present (litigation star)
Louisville Business First's Forty under 40 Outstanding Young Leader Award, 2003

Representative Matters

Trade Secret, Unfair Competition, IP Litigation

Qualified by and testified before the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut as an expert witness on the standard of care to litigate a trade secret misappropriation claim in Kentucky courts.
Successfully tried trade secret misappropriation case before a jury in Kentucky Federal Court. Succeeded on post-trial motion to amend the breach of contract damages from $202,865 to $1.
Successfully argued at the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to affirm $3.2 Million Dollar Judgment found non-dischargeable by the United States Bankruptcy Court based on claims of trade secret misappropriation and tortious interference. https://www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/20a0132p-06.pdf (To Be Published).
Successfully prosecuted and defended misappropriations of trade secret claims. Obtained dismissal of trade secret misappropriation claims on summary judgment.
Prosecuted and defended patent and trademark infringement cases

Employment Litigation

Successfully prosecuted cases and obtained Temporary Restraining Orders to enforce non-competition and non-solicitation agreements, against misappropriation of trade secrets, tortious interference with business relationships and unfair competition. Obtained preliminary and permanent injunctions after evidentiary hearings. Resulted in successful settlements with monetary components and permanent injunctive relief.

Successfully defended employment discrimination claims, defamation, and retaliation.

Cyber Litigation and E-discovery experience

Taught e-Discovery in the College of Legal Studies
Assisted, advised, coordinated and implemented litigation holds for clients.
Assisted numerous clients in preserving and forensically examining work computers of current or former employees to support a claim.
Successfully obtained court orders requiring opponent to allow forensic examination of home computers and PDAs, resulting in the discovery of key evidence.
Successfully obtained court order requiring opponent to cease using back-up tape recycling and other losses of electronic evidence during litigation.
Successfully quashed subpoena of non-party to a lawsuit requesting time-consuming and expensive electronic discovery on grounds of burdens and cost.
Successfully used subpoena process of Internet Service Protocols to determine identity of anonymous cyber-smearers and prosecuted them.
Successfully obtained injunction requiring former employee who obtained domain name for employer to transfer domain name back to employer.
Developed e-discovery protocols, retained forensic experts and coordinated production of electronic documents and data for several litigation matters.
Coordinated and developed protocol for identification, imaging and extraction of documents prior to sale of subsidiary. Imaged more than a million documents and extracted thousands of boxes of confidential and proprietary documents.