Overview
Randy Kahnke is a Chambers-ranked attorney who is listed in Best Lawyers in America for bet-the-company litigation. He has been the lead trial attorney on cases from New York to California and touching three continents. Randy represents clients in complex commercial and intellectual property litigation, and he has served as group head of the firm's business litigation practice.
Randy was recognized for his trial victories as a Minnesota Attorney of the Year. He is the co-editor, with the former deputy director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization, of the treatise, Trade Secrets (Law Journal Press), and the acclaimed book, The Secrets to Winning Trade Secret Cases (Thomson West). He was also a founding member of the Sedona Conference working group on trade secrets. Randy has served as the co-chair of the Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Panel for the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. He has also served on the Federal Practice Committee of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota and as president of the Minnesota Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. Randy is a former federal law clerk, a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, and he has been recognized as a leading litigator in Chambers USA, Legal 500, Benchmark Litigation, Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers in America.
Representative Clients: 3M, Allianz, Boston Scientific Corporation, Cargill, CarVal, CommScope, FICO, General Mills, Honeywell, HTI, IBM, Target, United Health Group and Wells Fargo.
Representative Experience
- Winning multimillion-dollar jury verdict in favor of Fortune 100 company on claims of tortious interference with contracts protecting trade secrets and confidential information
- Winning federal jury verdict in favor of a leading medical products manufacturer on trade secret claims
- Winning complete defense verdict in federal trial centering on conspiracy claims
- Winning dismissal in the Southern District of New York of a complaint seeking in excess of $100 million arising out of an alleged international hedge fund trade
- Winning dismissal of a complaint in the Central District of California and prevailing on a subsequent appeal in the Ninth Circuit in a case alleging theft by a Chinese corporation of British trade secrets valued at more than $100 million
- Winning complete defense and attorneys' fees award on behalf of Fortune 500 company after week-long arbitration hearing involving $20 million breach-of-contract claims
- Obtaining favorable resolution following multi-week trial before Delaware Chancery Court involving multimillion-dollar breach-of-contract and trade-secrets claims
- Obtaining favorable resolution on behalf of a Fortune 100 company at the start of trial in a negligence case seeking $5.2 billion plus punitive damages (the case was featured on page one of the Wall Street Journal)
- Winning complete summary judgment on behalf of one of the country's leading financial analytics companies in a case involving claims in excess of $25 million
- Executing key trial testimony role in six-year, billion-dollar pharmaceutical trade-secret dispute resulting in a permanent injunction (the litigation was featured on page one of the National Law Journal)
Speeches and Publications: Randy has spoken across the country and has published extensively on litigation topics. For more, click here and then "other perspectives."
Related Legal Services
Related Industries
Credentials
Bar Admissions
Minnesota
Court Admissions
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota
Clerkships
U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, Hon. David S. Doty, 1989-1991
Education
University of Minnesota Law School
J.D. cum laude, Law Review (note and comment editor) (1989)
University of St. Thomas
B.A. summa cum laude (1986)
Insights & Events
Latest
Insights
News
Other Perspectives
- Trade Secrets 2018-19: Key Developments and Takeaways
Co-author, The IP Book, Minnesota CLE, September 2019 - The New Federal Defend Trade Secrets Act: How We Got Here and What We Have Learned
2017 Georgia IP Law Institute - The Secrets to Winning Trade Secret Cases
Co-editor and contributing author, Thomson West, 2009, 2012 & 2016 - The Intangible Advantage: Understanding Intellectual Property in the New Economy
Co-author with David Kline, Kerry Bundy, Robert Krupka, David Kappos, Paul Michel, Phillip Kim, Mayra Lombera, Marisa Moosekian and Gary Michelson, Michelson 20MM Foundation, 2016 - University of Minnesota Law School (Complex Litigation)
Invited Lecturer - University of St. Thomas Law School (The Art of Cross Examination)
Invited Lecturer - Managing Cases to Win
New York Counsel-to-Counsel Summit - Winning Litigation
AIPLA Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C. - The Keys to Successful Litigation
IPO National Meeting, Chicago - Stop Them Now! Guidelines for Litigating at the Speed of Light
Complex Litigation Seminar, Minneapolis - Winning Trade Secret Cases
West National Speaker Series - This Year's Critical Trade Secret Developments
Midwest IP Institute - The New Federal Defend Trade Secrets Act: What Employers Need to Know and Recent Developments
Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute -
Keeping Your Trade Secret Treasure Chest Locked
Food, Agriculture & Biofuels 2010 National Conference - Protecting Confidential Business Information
PricewaterhouseCoopers General Counsel Forum - Enforcing Trade Secret Rights and Defending Against Trade Secret Claims
Law Seminars International - The Interface Between Trade Secret, Patent and Employment Law
Med Edge International Conference - Preparing, Defending and Attacking Cleanrooms
Midwest Intellectual Property Institute - Trade Secrets From a Business View
Minnesota Continuing Legal Education - Unfair Competition: Critical Issues in Trade Secret Litigation
Minnesota Institute of Legal Education - Introduction to Intellectual Property Litigation
Minnesota Continuing Legal Education - Protecting Trade Secrets During Employee Transition
Annual Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute - A Guided Tour of Trade Secret Law
Minnesota Institute of Legal Education - Protecting Trade Secrets in the Information Age
Intellectual Property Seminar - Basic Training for Intellectual Property Litigation
Minnesota Continuing Legal Education - Minority Shareholder Disputes
Minnesota Institute of Legal Education - Noncompetes and Trade Secrets: Employment Law Week
Minnesota Continuing Legal Education - Antitrust Concerns of Covenants to Not Compete
Annual Business Competition Law Seminar - Managing and Taking Corporate Discovery
Minnesota Continuing Legal Education - Minority Shareholder Disputes: Managing Litigation
Minnesota Institute of Legal Education - Evidence Preservation: Business and the Law
Annual Securities Litigation Seminar - Trade Secrets: Your Business and the Law
FaegreBD Seminar - Nuts & Bolts of Intellectual Property Law
Intellectual Property Seminar - Recent Developments in the Law of Trade Secrets
Intellectual Property Seminar - Litigating Trade Secret Cases
Intellectual Property Seminar - Trade Secrets Updates
FaegreBD Seminar - Executives Who Are Also Minority Shareholders: Rights, Obligations and Related Trade Secret Issues
Minnesota Continuing Legal Education - Resolving Partnership Disputes
Minnesota Institute of Legal Education - Managing LLC Litigation
Minnesota Institute of Legal Education - Resolving Disputes Involving Non-Profit Corporations
Minnesota Institute of Legal Education - Employees Carrying Secrets — What's an Employer to Do? A Tour de Force Examination of Strategies to Protect Your Confidential Business Information
Minnesota Continuing Legal Education - Defection of a Key Executive to the Competition — What to Do and When?
Minnesota Continuing Legal Education - U.S. Goes on Offensive Against Economic Espionage
Co-author, Minneapolis Star Tribune Business Forum, March 11, 2013 - Inevitable Disclosure
Intellectual Property Law Journal, Vol. 17 - Successful Mediation of International Disputes
Expatriate Adviser Quarterly - Can You Keep a Trade Secret?
Minnesota Technology Quarterly - Confidential Trade Secret — Click Here to Download
Trends - Risky Business: Can U.S. Companies Spy on Counterfeiters Abroad?
Trends - Protecting Your Intellectual Property Rights Through Litigation: A Guide for Emerging Companies
Trends - How to Avoid Getting Sued: The Real Key to Avoiding Litigation is Assuming You'll Wind up in Court
Ventures - Complex Litigation: Don't Check Your Common Sense at the Courthouse Door
Trends - Federal Court Fast Lane — The Federal Expedited Trials Program
Minneapolis Star Tribune Business Forum - See You in Court: Litigation Can Be a Valuable Business Tool — If You Plan Ahead
Ventures - It's 2:00 A.M., Do You Know Where Your E-Mail Is?
Trends - I'll See You in Court: Preparing for Complex Litigation
Trends - It's Time for a Reality Check on Document Retention
Trends
Leadership & Community
Professional Associations
- Federal Bar Association, Minnesota Chapter — Past President and Director
- U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota — Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Committee, Past Co-chair
- U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota — Federal Practice Committee, Past Member
- Intellectual Property Owners Association — Trade Secrets Committee
- Sedona Conference — Inaugural Member of Steering Committee on Trade Secrets
- Honorable Jimmie V. Reyna I.P. Inn of Court — Master
Civic Activities
- University of Minnesota Law Alumni Committee
- Interfaith Outreach Community Partners (IOCP) — Volunteer
- Youth Coach for Wayzata, Plymouth, Orono and Providence Academy Athletic Associations
- Board member of the single largest provider of services to the homeless in the Twin Cities.
Honors
- Minnesota Lawyer — The POWER 30: Mergers & Acquisitions, 2023-24
- Minnesota Lawyer — The POWER 30: Business Litigation, 2022-22
- Best Lawyers® — Commercial Litigation, 2009-25, Intellectual Property Litigation, 2013-25, Bet-the-Company Litigation, 2022-25
- World IP Review – “Recommended,” U.S. Trade Secrets, 2024
- Litigation Counsel of America — Fellow
- Chambers USA — Minnesota, Litigation: General Commercial, 2005-24
- Faegre Drinker — Pro Bono Honor Roll, 2020, 2023
- Minnesota Lawyer — Attorney of the Year, 2012
- Benchmark Litigation — 'Future Star,' Intellectual Property, 2020
- Minnesota Super Lawyers — Business Litigation, 2003-19, 2024
- Minnesota Law & Politics — Top 40 IP Attorneys in Minnesota
- Delta Epsilon Sigma National Honor Society
- Omicron Delta Epsilon National Economics Honor Society
- Pi Gamma Mu National Social Science Honor Society
- John C. Benson Pro Bono Award
No aspect of these recognitions has been approved by the highest court of any state.