Matthew — thanks for reading and for your question. So, “trade secrets” is a broad term for lots of things with clients. I have clients that have internal personnel struggles that surface in the course of work. That would fall into that category for me. I’ve also had situations where I have two clients that are in the same business categories and are competitors. I always inform the clients of present or past work with competitors so they can determine whether or not to work with me. If they’re fine with it, then I work really hard to ensure that I’m not compromising any work or confidentiality. I do believe in sharing best practices, benchmarking, and a host of other things that help businesses grow. I also encourage partnerships whenever possible. But there are just some things that have to be kept confidential, and I try to act as an attorney in those situations and protect my client’s trust.

Hope that helps to explain it!