Overview

Allan Neighbors is a competition and trade secrets lawyer. After spending the first twenty years of his career in courtrooms throughout Texas and the United States, Allan spends much of his time advising, counseling, and training employers on strategies and practices to protect confidential information and trade secrets, guard against unfair competition, and manage litigation risks. As an active member of Littler’s Unfair Competition and Trade Secrets Practice Group, Allan is a recognized resource and seasoned counselor in emerging state and federal laws covering restrictive covenants and trade secrets. 

Allan is also a certified mediator for the State of Texas and he enjoys bringing that experience to the table to assist parties in resolving disputes involving restrictive covenants, trade secrets, and other business matters. 

Allan’s recent litigation successes include:

  • Representation of Fortune 50 firm client in restrictive covenant and trade secret misappropriation arbitration against group of departing employees, resulting in settlement securing permanent injunctive relief and recovery of monetary damages;
  • Secured a winning jury verdict for over $10 million in a complex trade secret case in federal court in Texas;
  • Successful FINRA arbitration defense in a matter where the claimant sought several million dollars in damages, as well as an ancillary state court proceeding in Texas where injunctive relief was sought against our clients. The FINRA arbitration resulted in no damages being awarded and the ancillary proceeding in state court was dismissed;
  • Secured preliminary and permanent injunctions enforcing noncompetition agreements against a group of departing employees who sought to establish a competing logistics business on behalf of a new employer and led teams in complex multijurisdictional disputes that resulted in the protection of millions of dollars of intellectual property in three consecutive cases involving quantitative analysts in the high frequency trading industry; and
  • Numerous successful representations of firm clients, both prosecution and defense, in injunctive relief matters across the United States across multiple industries.

Prior to joining Littler more than 20 years ago, Allan served as judicial law clerk to the pioneering Hon. Mary Lou Robinson, U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Texas.

 

Professional & Community Affiliations

Member

Labor and Employment Section

State Bar of Texas

Member

Labor and Employment Section

American Bar Association

Member

Labor and Employment Section

Houston Bar Association

Recognition

Named, The Best Lawyers in America®

2019-2025

Named, Super Lawyer

Texas

Super Lawyers

2018-2020

Named, Rising Star

Super Lawyers

2010-2014

Named, Rising Star-Employment and Labor

Texas Monthly Magazine

2010-2014

Speaking Engagements

2024 Houston Regional Employer Conference

Houston, TX

September 26, 2024

2023 Houston Regional Employer Conference

Houston, TX

October 18, 2023

2022 Houston Regional Employer Conference

Houston, TX

October 6, 2022

Non-Competes and Trade Secret Protection: Strategies and Recent Developments

2017 Littler Houston Employer Conference

August 10, 2017

2016 Houston Employer Conference

Houston, TX

August 11, 2016

Shh! It’s a Trade Secret!

Corporate Counsel Institute, University of Texas School of Law CLE

April-May, 2016

2015 Houston Employer Conference

Houston, TX

August 13, 2015

Noncompetes & Trade Secret Protection: An In-House Counsel’s Guide to a Big Year of Change

Houston, TX

April 8, 2015

New Year, New Hires: Tips and Strategies for Avoiding Litigation Arising from the Hiring Process

Houston, TX

January 29, 2015

Prosecuting Parallel Criminal and Civil Trade Secret Theft Cases: Issues a Civil Attorney Should Consider

27th Annual Institute on Intellectual Property Law - Houston Intellectual Property Law Association and University of Houston Law Center

October 6, 2011

The 2011 Houston Employer Conference

August 11, 2011

Unfair Competition in the 21st Century: Non-disclosure, Non-solicitation and Non-competition Issues Today

Houston, TX

October 28, 2008

Fair and Unfair Competition by Former Employees

The Executive Council

September 2008

Power Tools for Non-Profits

United Way and Houston Young Lawyers Association

March 2005

Debunking Wage & Hour Myths and Overview of New FLSA Regulations

Association of Builders and Contractors

November 2004

Education

  • J.D., South Texas College of Law Houston, 2001
  • B.A., Texas Tech University, 1997With Honors

Bar Admission

Texas

Courts

  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas