Clarification, 8/1/13, 12:10 p.m. EDT: The second paragraph below has been amended to clarify how many attorneys moved with Martin Rogers from Clifford Chance to Davis Polk & Wardwell in 2012.
In an attempt to dismiss a lawsuit filed against it last month in New York state court by a recruiter who claims he played a role in placing a Hong Kong litigator at the firm, Davis Polk & Wardwell argues that the recruiter did nothing to aid the hire and does not deserve a $1.4 million commission.
The recruiter, New York–based Alan Metz, claims in his suit that six months after Davis Polk's Hong Kong office head, William Barron, rebuffed his call suggesting that he speak to "the head of the largest and highest-quality litigation practice in Hong Kong," the lawyer about whom Metz was calling, Martin Rogers, moved to Davis Polk from Clifford Chance. (While Metz writes in his complaint that his "successful" recruiting efforts placed Rogers and 17 lawyers from his team, a Clifford Chance spokeswoman said that just nine other lawyers moved with Rogers to Davis Polk. Metz's attorney does not dispute that number.)
