Eric Ostroff

Managing Partner and Chair, Trade Secrets and IP Group

"Eric is an exceptional lawyer who combines business savvy with incredible legal acumen." - Chambers USA

Trade Secrets & IP, Commercial Litigation,
Employment, Trial Practice

  • Overview
  • Representative Matters
  • News
  • testimonials

About Eric Ostroff

Eric Ostroff, Meland Budwick, P.A.’s Managing Partner, focuses his practice on business litigation and intellectual property litigation. Chambers USA describes him as having “a brilliant mind” and as an attorney who “delivers outstanding service and has outstanding ability.” Chambers also notes that Eric “wins praise for his extensive experience in commercial disputes, with a notable expertise in trade secrets cases.” Eric is the only attorney included in Chambers USA’s rankings of Florida commercial litigators and intellectual property lawyers.

Businesses and individuals trust Eric to protect their interests in courts and arbitrations throughout Florida and across the country, often in bet-the-company cases. He regularly litigates a broad range of business disputes, including cases involving breaches of contract, business torts, officer/director fiduciary duties, business defamation, civil conspiracy, unfair competition, false advertising, real estate, and deceptive and unfair trade practices. He also represents plaintiffs and defendants in trademark and copyright infringement actions. Eric is an experienced trial lawyer who has tried many cases to verdict, before judges, juries, and arbitration panels.

Eric is nationally recognized for his expertise in trade-secrets and noncompete cases. He helps businesses protect their trade secrets and proprietary information, both before and during litigation. He works with businesses to identify their trade secrets and ensure that they are taking the steps necessary to protect this critical information. And he has extensive experience prosecuting and defending trade-secret and noncompete actions nationwide. Eric serves on the Steering Committee of The Sedona Conference Working Group on Trade Secrets, a nonpartisan think tank that gathers the preeminent experts in various areas of law to publish consensus commentaries on cutting-edge legal issues.

Eric has frequently been quoted in various media outlets regarding business litigation and trade-secrets issues, including the New York Times, Bloomberg, Reuters, and the Miami Herald. And he is frequently invited to speak throughout the country about trade secrets and intellectual property, as well as about using advanced technology in litigation.

Before joining Meland Budwick, P.A., Eric worked for five years at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, where he was part of the Employment Litigation and Complex Commercial Litigation practice groups.

Education

  • University of Miami School of Law, J.D., summa cum laude, 2004
    • University of Miami Law Review
    • Order of the Coif
  • Emory University, B.A., Political Science, 2001


Memberships 

  • The Sedona Conference Working Group on Trade Secrets, Steering Committee Member, Drafting Team Co-Chair, and Dialogue Leader
  • American Intellectual Property Law Association, Trade Secrets Committee and Trademark Litigation Committee
  • Section of Litigation, American Bar Association
  • Trial Lawyers Section, The Florida Bar
  • Member, Dade County Bar Association


Awards/Rankings

  • Ranked, Chambers USA Guide, General Commercial Litigation 2017-2023
  • Ranked, Chambers USA Guide, Intellectual Property, 2021-2023
  • Daily Business Review Florida Legal Awards, Distinguished Leaders, 2022
  • AV-rated, preeminent in his field, by Martindale-Hubbell
  • Legal Services of Greater Miami, 2019 Pro Bono Honoree
  • Lawyers for Children America’s John Edward Smith Child Advocacy Award, 2006
  • Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP’s Pro Bono Service Award, 2005, 2006, 2007


Publications

  • The Sedona Conference, Protecting Trade Secrets in Litigation About Them, March 2022
  • “Protecting Trade Secrets” blog protectingtradesecrets.com
  • “Enforcing Noncompete and Nonsolicitation Agreements in Florida,” Daily Business Review, December 22, 2010
  • “5 Ways to Shrink the Threat of an Employee’s Exit to Proprietary Info,” Entrepreneur, April 29, 2014
  • “Seeking Trade Secret Protection? Don’t Rely on a Label.,”Entrepreneur, May 12, 2014
  • “Avoid These 6 Mistakes When Safeguarding Proprietary Information,” Entrepreneur, June 20, 2014
  • “The ‘George Costanza Defense’ to Stealing Trade Secrets, Entrepreneur,” October 21, 2014
  • “Lessons for Employers from Obama’s Push Back Against Noncompetes,” Daily Business Review, December 9, 2016


Bar Admissions

  • State of Florida
  • Southern District of Florida
  • Middle District of Florida
  • Northern District of Florida
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Practice Areas

Representative Matters

Trade Secrets & IP, Commercial Litigation

Represented Glenn Beck, Mercury Radio Arts, Inc., and TheBlaze, Inc. in multiple litigations in Texas and Delaware against the companies’ former CEO for violating a restrictive covenant and breaching his fiduciary duty.

Trade Secrets & IP, Commercial Litigation

Represented a national staffing company in a JAMS arbitration asserting claims against the company’s former president for, among others, misappropriation of trade secrets and breaching a non-compete agreement. Following a week-long trial, obtained judgment in our client’s favor on all counts.

Trade Secrets & IP, Commercial Litigation

Represented Crown Linen, LLC in a trade secrets, FDUTPA, and tortious interference claim against its former sales director, who started a competing company. Obtained a jury verdict in Crown Linen's favor.

Trade Secrets & IP

Represented a professional sports league in a trademark infringement, false advertising, and unfair competition action in the Southern District of New York, brought by a competing sports league.

Trade Secrets & IP

Represented large insurance company in litigation against former employees for stealing trade secrets. Obtained an emergency injunction.

Trade Secrets & IP

Represented national private jet charter company in trade-secrets action brought by a national fractional-share jet company in the Southern District of Ohio.

Trade Secrets & IP

Represented leading provider of secondary-market sports and event ticket services in trade-secrets action against the company’s former CTO.

Trade Secrets & IP

Represented large real estate brokerage in trade-secrets litigation brought by national brokerage in the Southern District of New York.

Trade Secrets & IP

Represented UK-based manufacturer of proprietary construction materials in trade-secrets action against a former business partner.

Trade Secrets & IP

Represented former CEO of a multibillion-dollar insurance company in restrictive covenant litigation with his former employer.

Trade Secrets & IP, Commercial Litigation

Represented Nationwide healthcare provider in multiple litigations to protect trade secrets and proprietary information.

Trade Secrets & IP

Represented medical supplies company in litigation and arbitration asserting misappropriation-of-trade-secrets claims against a former business partner.

Trade Secrets & IP

Represented electronics company in action brought by a competitor asserting misappropriation of trade secrets.

Trade Secrets & IP

Represented large real estate brokerage in litigation against former salespeople for violating restrictive covenant.

Trade Secrets & IP

Represented an international security company in non-compete dispute with a competitor.

Trade Secrets & IP

Defended healthcare company against claims of trademark infringement.

Commercial Litigation

Represented 40% owners of international wine company in litigation against management asserting breach of fiduciary duty and appointment of a receiver.

Commercial Litigation

Represented private equity company in multi-state litigation with another private equity company asserting breach of fiduciary duty and other claims.

Commercial Litigation

Represented investors in national cannabis company in action against management asserting breaches of fiduciary duty.

Commercial Litigation

Represented investor defrauded out of $10MM investment in litigation against the investment sponsor/manager.

Commercial Litigation

Represented purchaser of a for-profit college in litigation against the seller for beaching the purchase and sale agreement. Obtained summary judgment.

Commercial Litigation

Represented a developer in a class action brought by unit owners in a downtown Miami high-rise condominium.

Commercial Litigation

Represented minority shareholder of a franchisor in litigation against the majority shareholders for breach of fiduciary duty.

Commercial Litigation

Represented note purchaser in commercial foreclosure action, obtaining foreclosure judgment. Later secured a $5 million judgment against the guarantors following trial in Miami-Dade Complex Business Court.

Commerical Litigation

Represented art purchaser in litigation against Art Basel art dealer asserting fraud claims.

Commercial Litigation

Represented Isle of Dreams, the owner of real property in Miami, Florida, in contentious state court foreclosure proceedings against Sunbeam Realty and Sunbeam Television (owned by Edmund Ansin) which include significant counterclaims.

Commercial Litigation

Represented the owner of commercial property on International Drive in Orlando, Florida in a commercial foreclosure action. Obtained a favorable workout that allowed our client to keep the property.

Commercial Litigation

Represented the owner of a retail shopping center in Pinecrest, Florida in a commercial foreclosure action. Negotiated a highly favorable settlement that allowed our client to keep the property.

Commercial Litigation

Represented Crown Linen, LLC in litigation with Miami-Dade County over water and sewer services.

Commercial Litigation

Representation the owner of commercial property in downtown Key West in multiple foreclosure actions and obtained a favorable workout that enabled the client to keep its properties.

Commercial Litigation

Represented 50% property owner in arbitration against co-owner for breaching operating agreement.

Commercial Litigation

Represented law firm in breach-of-contract dispute with former attorneys.

Commercial Litigation

Represented property owner in multimillion-dollar dispute with insurance company over damage to the property.

Commercial Litigation

Successfully defended various businesses against claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act and Americans With Disabilities Act.

Commercial Litigation

Retained by large litigation funding company to perform due diligence on potential funding cases.

Bankruptcy and Restructuring

Represented Lexi Development Company, Inc., the owner of the Lexi condominium mixed use development, in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy, in which the Debtor successfully eliminated default interest, avoiding foreclosure and preserving equity for the benefit of the Debtor’s principals.

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Eric has a brilliant mind. He is able to analyze legal problems from a business perspective, in a way that is really valuable, and he's also extremely efficient."
- Chambers USA, 2023
Eric delivers outstanding service and has outstanding ability.
- Chambers USA, 2023
Eric provides timely responses and is really able to cut through to the essence of things.
- Chambers USA, 2023
Eric is an excellent lawyer who combines business savvy with incredible legal acumen and is very aware of commercial issues.
- Chambers USA, 2022
He has a razor-sharp mind and gets to the heart of the issue without wasting time.
- Chambers USA, 2021
He is incredibly knowledgeable and very responsive.
- Chambers USA, 2021
He is able to very quickly get his head around highly complex matters and frame them legally in a manner that is very persuasive.
- Chambers USA, 2021
He is very responsive and his work product is of incredibly impressive quality.
- Chambers USA, 2021
I always say that an outstanding attorney is one that not only delivers the technical side of the case, but also is able to connect with the client in a much deeper client/attorney - this is the case with Eric.
- Chambers USA, 2020