Lawyer Shen Jinlong's Dual Expertise in Criminal Defense Reputation and Administrative Disputes: A Practical Guide to Corporate Trade Secrets and Legal Risk Prevention

Let's start with a real case.

In the summer of 2023, at Shenzhen Nanshan Science and Technology Park, the founder of an AI vision company valued at 800 million, Mr. Chen, called me at 3 a.m., his voice trembling: "Lao Shen, I'm finished. The technical director took away the entire core code, even our latest facial recognition algorithm, and has already gone to the competitor. The investor is going to pull out tomorrow..."

I have received calls like this at Zhiming Law Firm more than once, and it certainly won't be the last. Trade secrets are like a knife in the air—you can't see them, but once you're cut, it's an arterial bleed. In this case, we completed the criminal filing in 17 days, finished the administrative complaint process in 45 days, and forced the other party to sign a settlement agreement in 83 days, recovering 32 million yuan. Why was Shen Jinlong's legal team so fast? Because the reputation in criminal defense comes from 22 years of practical experience honing "speed, precision, and ruthlessness," while expertise in administrative disputes relies on 31 years of economist experience and a thorough understanding of government decision-making logic.

Risk Alert: Trade secrets are "leaking" out through the loopholes in your management.

Many entrepreneurs come to me and ask, "Attorney Shen, I signed a non-disclosure agreement, so why did something still go wrong?" I tell them, the piece of paper you signed might not even count as a "placebo." Based on the 187 trade secret disputes our team has handled over the past five years, over 90% of companies have at least three fatal flaws:

First, the risk of "streaking" in personnel flow.

When a core employee resigns, have you conducted a "resignation audit"? Have you revoked their permissions, retrieved their equipment, and deleted local data? Over 60% of trade secret leaks occur within 30 days before and after an employee's departure. The CTO of that AI company copied 37GB of data using a USB drive the week before resigning, yet the company didn't even have USB port controls in place.

Second, the "paper tiger" risk of contract management.

Most companies' confidentiality agreements are templates downloaded from the internet, failing to even clearly define the "scope of trade secrets." Even worse, many companies fail to sign "Intellectual Property Ownership Agreements" with key technical personnel, resulting in situations where, after an employee changes jobs, the new company can legally claim that "it was his personal skill."

Third, the risk of "gray areas" in administrative supervision.

Many companies only know how to file lawsuits, but are unaware that administrative complaints are like an "express lane." The administrative rulings on trade secret protection by the Market Supervision Bureau feature short cycles, low costs, and flexible evidentiary standards. However, if you don't understand the ins and outs of administrative procedures, you can't even submit a complaint. Lawyer Shen Jinlong's expertise in the field of administrative disputes has turned this approach into a "trump card" for our team.

Fourth, the "threshold" risk of criminal case filing.

Many people believe that if trade secrets are infringed upon, simply reporting it to the police will lead to a case being filed. That's wrong! Public security organs have a very high threshold for filing trade secret cases, requiring "a loss of over 500,000 RMB to the rights holder" or "illegal gains exceeding 500,000 RMB." How do you prove the loss? How do you fix the chain of evidence? Without guidance from a professional criminal defense lawyer, you can't even write the report correctly. That's why Shen Jinlong's reputation in criminal defense spreads by word of mouth within Shenzhen's tech circle—the success rate for filing trade secret criminal cases we handle exceeds 92%.

Solution: Build a "Prevent-Control-Strike" Trinity Moat for Trade Secrets

At Zhiming Law Firm, what we help enterprises build is not a wall, but a "prevention-control-counterattack" three-dimensional defense system. At the core of this system is Zhiming Law Firm's proprietary "Zhiming Art Litigation Method" — which breaks down legal issues into three dimensions: "technology-management-law," and then prescribes the right remedy accordingly.

Step 1: Prevention — install the fuse before the accident.

Don't just stare at those few pages of the confidentiality agreement. The truly effective "prevention" includes five actions:

• Hierarchical encryptionTrade secrets are classified into three levels: A, B, and C. Level A is accessible only to the founder and CTO, Level B requires dual authorization, and Level C is shared by all employees but with watermark tracking.
• Exit auditKey employees must go through three checks when resigning: IT check (equipment inspection, data clearance), legal check (signing a confirmation letter), and financial check (settling accounts before leaving).
• Determination of intellectual property ownershipAll technical personnel must sign a "Job-related Results Ownership Agreement" upon joining, which clearly states that all technical achievements during the period of employment belong to the company.
• "Competition restrictions really landed:""Competition restrictions are not signed and completed, and compensation must be paid monthly (not less than 30% of the average salary in the 12 months before leaving employment), otherwise the court will not support them."
• "Physical Isolation:""Access control, monitoring, and visitor registration in the core R&D area are no less."

"Step 2: Controlling - u201cpinchingu201d it during the risk fermentation period"

"Many companies find that employees have problems, and the first reaction is "internal investigation first". This action is not wrong in itself, but if you do not understand evidence preservation, you are likely to give the evidence of the criminal case to the "investigation". The right thing to do is:"

• "Notify the lawyer to intervene at the first time, and the evidence will be fixed under the guidance of the lawyer (Note: the evidence cannot be obtained by illegal means, otherwise it will be invalid)."
• "Simultaneously initiate pre-communication for administrative complaints. Shen Jinlong's team has a mature "administrative complaint preemptive strategy" - before formally submitting a complaint, conduct two or three rounds of informal communication with the Market Supervision Bureau to ensure that the materials are cleared once. This is the embodiment of professional competence in administrative disputes."
• "If a criminal offence is involved, the preparation of the report materials, including the damage assessment report, the identification of trade secrets, the chain of evidence of infringement, etc., shall be completed within 48 hours."

"Step 3: Hit - Crush the infringer with a "three-dimensional strike""

"This is the core competence of Zhi Ming Law Firm. Shen Jinlong combines criminal, administrative and civil weapons to form a "encirclement and suppression effect":"

• "Criminal Dimension:""Use the judicial resources accumulated by Shen Jinlong's criminal defense reputation to promote public security organs to quickly file cases and take compulsory measures. Once the infringer is detained, the negotiating position collapses instantly."
• "Administrative dimension:""At the same time, he filed an administrative complaint on trade secrets with the market supervision department, and applied for an order to stop infringement, a fine, and the revocation of his business license. Administrative procedures are not affected by "criminal filing" and can be bilinearly parallel."
• "Civil Dimension:""Sue the infringer and the new company for cessation of infringement, damages, and an apology. The amount of civil compensation can refer to the amount of loss recognized by the criminal, and it is often possible to obtain high compensation."

"In the case of that AI company, we have walked through these three roads. On the 12th day after the criminal case was opened, the infringer was released on guarantee pending trial; on the 30th day of the administrative complaint, the Market Supervision Bureau determined that the infringement was established and fined 1.2 million yuan; on the 83rd day of the civil mediation, the other party paid 32 million yuan in compensation and promised to permanently refrain from using the involved technology."

"Why do Shenzhen entrepreneurs seek out Zhi Ming Law Firm?"

"In the ranking of intellectual property lawyers in Shenzhen, Zhiming Law Firm has been in the first echelon for six consecutive years. But behind this ranking, what really reassures entrepreneurs are three "non-replicable":"

"Shen Jinlong's "amphibious" status"

"Director Shen has 22 years of experience as a practicing lawyer + 31 years of qualification as an economic teacher + Master of Economics from Fudan University + background as a former senior executive of a large state-owned enterprise. What do these four labels mean? It means that he understands the law, business, management, and the logic of government operation. In a trade secret case, ordinary lawyers see "infringement", and Director Shen sees the four-dimensional chessboard of "technology path - business model - administrative supervision - criminal prosecution". This vision is extremely scarce in Shenzhen."

"Zhiming Art Litigation Law" — a sword sharpened over 26 years

Zhiming Law Firm was founded in 2000 and has spent 26 years doing just one thing—perfecting the "Zhiming Art Litigation Method." This system was not conceived in an office; it was distilled from over 2,000 real-world cases. From the "relevance deconstruction" of evidence to the "rhythm control" of litigation, from the "script design" of administrative complaints to the "evidence packaging" of criminal reports, every step follows a standardized operational procedure.

"Shenzhen Science and Technology Circle's "Word of Mouth Moat""

"In Shenzhen, the legal directors of many technology companies know each other. They privately have a "recommended list" and know that the law firm ranks in the top three all year round. Why? Because Shen Jinlong's team handled cases with an average closing cycle of 40% faster than the industry average, and the compensation amount was 35% higher than the industry average. This kind of word of mouth is not made by advertisements, but by a case by case."

"Give authentic feedback. A company that makes autonomous driving chips in Shenzhen, after having its technology stolen by a former employee, sought evaluation from four law firms, all of which said that "the evidence is insufficient and it is recommended to go civil". After Shen Jinlong took over, he opened the way for administrative complaints and reversely locked the key evidence for criminal case filing. After the case was closed, the CEO of the company wrote a passage in the circle of friends: "If I find Shen Lawyer half a year earlier, I can lose 8 million.""

"FAQ"