Benjamin Nix Bio

Benjamin Nix has extensive experience litigating complex business disputes, including trade secrets, non-compete agreement disputes, Lanham Act claims, unfair competition, consumer class actions, trade dress and trademark, copyright, and fiduciary duty. He also counsels clients on a variety of pre-litigation matters, particularly on issues related to trade secrets, employee departure issues, non-competition agreements, and unfair competition. Ben served as Chair of the Business Litigation Group for seven years and currently serves on the firm’s Management Committee, which sets firm strategy and growth plans. He is a leader of a team that handles trade secrets matters, employee departure disputes, and disputes over non-competition agreements. He has been the lead lawyer on numerous cases in which the firm successfully defended misappropriation of trade secrets, including defeating applications for emergency relief and preliminary injunctions. Ben and his team also have successfully prosecuted trade secret claims and related matters, including obtaining temporary restraining orders, preliminary injunctions, and permanent injunctions on behalf of the firm’s clients. Ben’s recent successes for his clients include multiple millions of dollars in awards and settlements, as well as recovery of attorney’s fees and costs. Before joining Payne & Fears, Ben was an associate in the litigation department at Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP. Prior to that, he served as a judicial extern for the Honorable Stanley Mosk, Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court. Ben enjoys spending time with his wife and three daughters when they are home from college. As empty nesters, Ben and his wife Karrie spend more time getting outdoors to hike, and ride bikes when the weather is nice.