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Technical Expertise Reinforces Developers’ Credibility in Proprietary Software Arbitration

One of the largest global hedge funds accused two former developers of conspiring with a competitor — their new employer — to replicate proprietary software. Counsel for the former developers engaged FTI Consulting’s trading industry and technology experts to assess and disprove the allegations by demonstrating that the hedge fund’s systems were based on widely known and commonly used principles.

Our Impact

Through an extensive analysis of the hedge fund’s data storage and analytics systems, our experts delivered three comprehensive reports demonstrating the software in question was based on widely known and commonly applied computer science principles.
The findings strengthened our clients’ position in arbitration proceedings by establishing a solid technical foundation that helped achieve a successful legal outcome.
By disproving the allegations, our clients reinforced their credibility and positioning in the market and clarified the scope of innovation in their technology.

Our Role

FTI Consulting conducted extensive qualitative research on each of the allegedly unique and valuable features of the hedge fund’s data storage and modeling systems.
Our experts traced the origins of the mathematical and computer science principles underlying these features to demonstrate their widespread use prior to their adoption by the hedge fund.
Leveraging our deep technical and industry expertise, we identified multiple commercially available products with identical features as the hedge fund’s data storage system, as well as in-house software systems at other large financial institutions with striking similarities to its trading modeling system.
FTI Consulting submitted three expert reports and delivered oral testimony during a two-week arbitration trial that concluded in April 2025.