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The Fordyce Letter

Straight Talk for the Recruiting Profession


Articles tagged 'lawsuits'

Jeff's On Call!

Jeff’s On Call!: E&O Insurance Advice



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This week’s inquiry comes from Norman Lieberman (comment on the Fee Collection and Client Bankruptcy post from last week):

Hi Jeff:

As a successful 29-year veteran independent recruiter, I have been following and buying your sage advise for decades. Your articles, books and materials have helped, and saved me, too many times to remember over the years. One thing is for sure, you saved me a fortune in attorney bills. So a big Thank You is due.

I recently read an article that said E&O Insurance, specific to our industry, may not protect recruiters as once thought.  Apparently some E&O policies have exclusions that are broad and hurtful to recruiters.  Also, the article warns not to compare premiums, but instead compare the Insurance companies’ reputation for denying coverage.  Even better is to have an attorney compare the policies for us.

The article scared me because I may be falsely sleeping well thinking that I am fully covered.  But, in fact, my E&O insurance may not be covering me as I thought.

So Jeff, is it caveat emptor or how do we best protect ourselves?  Where does one find out an insurance company’s reputation?  How can we best protect ourselves and be confidant that our E&O is doing what we need and had intended?

Thank you,

Norman Lieberman

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In Barclays Settlement, Is Client Relationship Preserved?



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The British bank Barclays has agreed to settle a lawsuit with Singapore-based recruiter Pagoda Partners for allegedly failing to pay for a banker it hired from Merrill Lynch. Financial terms were not disclosed.

John Koh, a managing director at WMRC Pte. in Singapore, a finance industry recruitment firm, said it is “always better to settle than pursue the legal route with big clients” because “relationships matter a lot in this industry and it’s wiser to try and preserve them.”

But does this always matter, especially if a recruiting firm has (allegedly) missed out on its fee? While it seems doubtful that Barclays is likely to use Pagoda again, or perhaps vice-versa, what do you think will happen?

Would you have settled in a similar scenario in order to avoid burned bridges in our relationship-intense industry?

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Barclays Sued for Payment



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Pagoda Partners, a Singapore-based recruiter, is suing the British bank Barclays after allegedly referring a high-level candidate from Merrill Lynch but never receiving its fee.

According to the lawsuit, Pagoda sent Barclays the candidate’s resume in January 2009.

However, attorneys for Barclays say the new employee — who earned $348,000 in his first year — was hired as a direct referral after Pagoda failed to set up a meeting, according to the court filing. The attorneys say there was never any agreement for the engagement of Pagoda’s services, court documents reveal.

Barclays says it typically pays search firms between 10%-18% of annual compensation for new hires, with a cap of $123,000.

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JPMorgan Alleges Poaching in Lawsuit



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As if things weren’t busy enough for JPMorgan Chase this week, on Thursday it filed a lawsuit against executive search firm The IDW Group, alleging breach of contract.

JPMorgan claims that New York-based IDW enticed employees to leave JPMorgan for positions elsewhere, including Citadel Investment Group.

The lawsuit alleges that the recruitment agency solicited Patrik Edsparr, a valued executive who resigned from JPMorgan in March and is currently serving as Citadel’s CEO for Europe and head of global fixed income business.

The lawsuit also notes that following Edsparr’s departure, JPMorgan soon lost five more employees to Citadel.

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TempWorks Software Sues Avionte



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TempWorks Software, which has been around since 1959, has filed a lawsuit against Avionté, alleging copyright infringement of TempWorks source code, database design, and marketing materials.

TempWorks Software alleges that Avionté principals were employed by TempWorks Software between 1997 and 2006.

TempWorks CEO Gregg Dourgarian said in a statement, “When my father wrote the ancestor programs from which the current TempWorks database evolved, his vision was to remove the stress and disorganization which he felt crippled his former employer and turn his newly minted Manpower franchise into a technological innovator and a role model for other firms in our market.”