Juries.ai, a New York-based startup specializing in artificial intelligence-powered courtroom simulations, has initiated legal action against its co-founder, Vincent Sheu, alleging misappropriation of trade secrets. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, accuses Sheu of retaining control over critical company accounts and withholding confidential information, including source code and business strategies, following his termination in October.
Established in April 2025, Juries.ai offers litigation teams AI tools designed to simulate jury decision-making processes, enabling attorneys to evaluate and refine their cases before trial. According to the complaint, Sheu, who was responsible for product development, failed to make significant contributions to the platform’s advancement. Post-termination, he allegedly refused to return proprietary materials and interfered with the company’s patent application process. Furthermore, Sheu is accused of approaching Juries.ai’s investors to promote a competing platform that closely mirrors the company’s offerings.
The startup is seeking a court injunction to prevent Sheu from utilizing its trade secrets, along with unspecified monetary damages. Legal representation for Juries.ai includes attorneys Blake Davis and Allison Harms of Latham & Watkins. As of now, Sheu’s legal counsel has not been identified.
This case underscores a growing trend of legal disputes within the AI industry concerning intellectual property and trade secrets. Similar incidents have been observed, such as Palantir Technologies’ lawsuit against former employees who allegedly used proprietary information to establish a competing AI firm. In another instance, Scale AI filed a lawsuit against rival startup Mercor, accusing it of trade secret theft facilitated by a former employee. These cases highlight the increasing importance of safeguarding intellectual property in the rapidly evolving AI sector.