BTG Files Lawsuit Against Baker McKenzie Regarding Unpaid Commission to Recruiter

The Business Trial Group has filed a lawsuit in Orlando, Florida state court on behalf of legal recruiting firm Wilcox and Hackett against Baker Mckenzie, one of the largest law firms in the world.

Wilcox and Hackett — who is being represented by the Business Trial Group’s Aaron C. Garnett — alleges that Baker McKenzie failed to pay compensation for recruitment services that led to the hiring of two new partners in the firm’s Miami office.

In a statement provided to legal industry publication Law360, Aaron Garnett said: “Our client did the work, performed his end of the bargain, and provided a significant benefit to Baker McKenzie. We look forward to helping him get fair compensation and resolving this matter.”

Our client asserts that he helped Baker McKenzie find and hire a duo of high-powered international tax attorneys in Jeffrey L. Rubinger and Summer LePree, both formerly of Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod LLP.

The Complaint alleges that Baker McKenzie failed to compensate our client for these services, and that this constitutes a breach of contract.

The Complaint lays out a timeline of the alleged events: In late 2018, Wilcox and Hackett began providing recruiting services to Baker McKenzie. In December of that year, the recruiter asked Baker McKenzie if they would be interested in Jeffrey Rubinger, and the firm answered in the affirmative.

According to the Complaint, Baker McKenzie asked the recruiter to provide the attorney’s personal and confidential contact information. After obtaining permission from Rubinger, the recruiter passed on that information based on a representation from Baker McKenzie that the recruiter would receive compensation.

The recruiter continued to serve as a go-between to obtain and pass along more relevant information. This process ultimately resulted in the hiring of Rubinger and Summer LePee as international tax partners in the Baker McKenzie Miami office.

Baker McKenzie, however, refused to pay the previously agreed upon compensation to the recruiter.

Contingency-Fee Employment Attorneys for Unpaid Commissions

Our business attorneys have extensive experience working with clients who were wrongfully denied compensation and commissions. We firmly believe that if you did the work, you deserve to get paid. Our attorneys will fight to recover every dollar you are owed – as we have done for other clients – whether through settlement or trial.

The Business Trial Group handles employment contract and commission cases on a contingency fee basis, which means that our clients do not pay hourly fees and only pay when we successfully resolve their case. Our goal is to not only be the best employment attorneys in Florida, but to make hiring the highest quality attorneys affordable for all clients with meritorious claims.