Eric Akira Tate co-chairs the firm’s Global Employment and Labor Group. He represents technology and other companies in high-stakes (“bet-the-company”) trade secrets and employee mobility cases. He also represents boards of directors and companies in sensitive internal investigations, including #MeToo matters, whistleblower claims, discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, and disputes involving executives.
He advises companies on employment law compliance and transactional matters, including restrictive covenants, personnel policies and procedures, and employment issues arising in mergers and acquisitions across the United States and globally.
His recent board and executive dispute work includes defending a publicly traded UK company against a wrongful termination suit brought by a former U.S. subsidiary CEO; representing a TSX-listed Canadian company in claims brought by two terminated C-suite executives; advising a publicly traded Japanese investment firm in the separation of a C-suite executive; and handling the separation of a CEO and more than 20 U.S. executives for a publicly traded Japanese healthcare company, including defending related discrimination and wrongful termination claims. He also represented a Fortune 200 technology company in an internal investigation involving discrimination and harassment allegations against a C-suite executive who later resigned.
In trade secrets and employee mobility matters, he represented Uber during diligence in its acquisition of Ottomotto, an autonomous vehicle startup founded by former Google engineers. He also helped lead Uber’s defense in a later patent infringement and trade secrets misappropriation case that settled during trial in 2018. His broader litigation experience spans matters involving companies such as Williams-Sonoma v. Restoration Hardware, International Lease Finance Co. v. Air Lease Corporation, Melaleuca, Inc. v. Shaklee Corporation, and New Century Mortgage v. Encore Credit.
He has been recognized by Chambers USA for Labor & Employment, Best Lawyers in employment law, the Daily Journal as a top California labor and employment and trade secrets lawyer, Benchmark Litigation as a Labor and Employment Star, and was named to Law360’s Employment Discrimination Editorial Advisory Board. He is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.
He is active in professional leadership, including service with the American Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Section, where he serves on the governing council and co-chairs a subcommittee on covenants not to compete and trade secrets. He has also held multiple leadership roles within ABA committees and conference planning groups, and has served as a mediator for the Northern District of California’s ADR program for nearly 15 years.
He is also a published author on employment law topics, including trade secrets, restrictive covenants, whistleblower standards, workplace bias, pay equity, and internal investigations, with work appearing in publications such as Today’s General Counsel, Daily Journal, LJN Employment Law Strategist, and Bloomberg BNA.
Beyond practice, he has held leadership and advisory roles in professional and community organizations, including founding and serving as president of Hapa Issues Forum, and leadership roles with the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California. He is also involved in mentorship and professional development initiatives, including INROADS, 100 Black Men of the Bay Area, and the Level Playing Field Institute’s IDEAL Scholars Program.
