Miller Barondess has achieved a significant victory on behalf of CriticalPoint Partners LLC (“CPP”), a prominent El Segundo-based investment bank and private equity firm, in a hard-fought trade secret misappropriation and unfair competition dispute.
The Miller Barondess team includes Sasha Frid, Zachary Sarnoff, and Dominic Nunneri. (CriticalPoint Partners LLC v. Philippe Didisheim, et al., Case No. 26STCP00147). Read coverage by the Los Angeles Business Journal and the Daily Journal (logins required).
On March 19, 2026, the Los Angeles County Superior Court granted the petition to confirm the Final Arbitration Award issued on December 8, 2025. The ruling requires former CriticalPoint executives Chapin Newhard and Philippe Didisheim to disgorge approximately $1.18 million in profits, primarily earned through retainer fees, from their competing firms, 48North Partners and Anvil Partners.
The dispute centered on allegations that Newhard and Didisheim breached their confidentiality agreements by misappropriating CriticalPoint’s proprietary client lists and deal-sourcing information to launch and grow their rival businesses. Evidence presented during arbitration, including emails and text messages between the two former executives, showed them exchanging details about CriticalPoint’s clients and target companies.
In a strongly worded Final Award, Arbitrator Hon. James Ware (Ret.) found that the respondents engaged in multiple breaches of contract. He determined that their actions involved dishonesty and deliberate efforts to conceal their conduct, noting that they “were fully aware that their actions were improper” and that their primary concern was simply “not getting caught.” The arbitrator emphasized that this was a clear case in which the wrongdoers should not be permitted to retain profits gained at CriticalPoint’s expense.
In addition to the monetary disgorgement, the arbitration award imposed a broad five-year injunction prohibiting Newhard and Didisheim from soliciting CriticalPoint’s clients or using any of the misappropriated confidential information. The court’s confirmation of the award now makes the ruling fully enforceable and paves the way for CriticalPoint to inspect the former employees’ devices for any remaining undisclosed confidential materials.