Analyze the following Case in this week's. Cases are short and intended to highlight a few key concepts.

Securities brokerage firm Charles Schwab filed suit against a former employee who left the company and started his own wealth management firm. Charles Schwab claimed that the names of its clients, along with information regarding their accounts and assets, were trade secrets. The employee, therefore, misappropriated these trade secrets when he contacted the clients to ask them to transfer their accounts to his new firm. Charles Schwab argued that the employee could not have learned of these individuals but for his work at the Charles Schwab brokerage.

Answer must be 100 wrds per question, or more, to provide a full answer.

1. Legally, what constitutes a trade secret?
2. Does it apply to the facts of this case?
3. What steps should a company take to ensure the information is protected as a trade secret?
4. What other legal methods are available to business owners to protect intellectual property?