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Key employees at successful companies will always be highly coveted hires by industry rivals. But as the continuing battle between Starwood Hotels and Hilton Worldwide has shown, while their knowledge may prove invaluable to their new employers, bringing along actual company secrets can spell real trouble. "When you leave a job, especially when you work in an industry in as much turmoil as the hospitality industry, you have to leave all the confidential material behind," says attorney Richard Barrett-Cuetara of Dallas' Cowles & Thompson. "And if you learn your new employee has ‘hot goods' you must contact the former employer immediately and quarantine the data until you can return it. A delay on any of those fronts may only help ensure that you will find yourself embroiled in a lawsuit." To interview Mr. Barrett-Cuetara, contact Rhonda Reddick at 800-559-4534 or rhonda@androvett.com.