Recruiter won’t collect fee in maritime law merger
A New York judge has dismissed a complaint by a legal recruiter that it should get paid a fee for helping arrange a 2006 merger of the New York maritime law firm Healy & Baillie with Blank Rome.
Justice Herman Cahn of the Supreme Court of the State of New York said recruiter Mark Bruce International cannot collect a fee for introducing Blank Rome to Healy & Baillie.
Mark Bruce had provided Blank Rome with information about Healy & Baillie in 2005, but Blank Rome had decided not to pursue discussions because some associates felt it was not a “good fit.”
However, at the same time, Healy & Baillie had entered into an agreement with a different consultant, Major, Lindsey & Africa to help it find a merger partner.
After Blank Rome originally expressed a lack of interest in Healy and Baillie, ML&A was successful in arranging a meeting between principals from the two firms, leading to a merger in September 2006. ML&A was paid a fee on $720,930.
The judge found e-mails exchanged between Mark Bruce and Blank Rome nearly a year earlier did not amount to a binding contract, but was “an unenforceable agreement to agree.”
The motion by Mark Bruce for summary judgment was dismissed and Blank Rome’s motion for dismissal was granted.
Recruiter won’t collect fee in maritime law merger
