Stout was engaged by the Plaintiff to perform a preliminary assessment of the damages for the parties' mediation related to the alleged theft of trade secrets and breach of restrictive employment covenants by several of each of the Plaintiff's key employees that were hired by the Defendant. The Plaintiff provided design, engineering, and installation management services related to manufacturing assembly lines. The Defendant hired several key employees of the Plaintiff in its attempt to vertically integrate several companies it acquired to compete with the Plaintiff. Stout prepared a cost build-up of the Plaintiff's proprietary information and trade secrets. Stout also analyzed the value of the proprietary information and trade secrets at the time of the alleged theft, as well as the estimated benefit received by the Defendant. Stout presented its analysis to the mediator. Stout's work led to a favorable settlement for the client.