700 Lawyer Firm Loses Appeal Over Recruiting Fee and is Ordered to Pay $488,000

“The fact that a small business can take on a 700-plus lawyer firm and prevail at both the trial and appellate levels is a testament to the great legal system of this country,” noted attorney Muhammad Aziz.

HOUSTON, TX, September 26, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ — Texas attorney Muhammad Aziz of Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Agosto & Friend recently won an appellate victory in a federal court in Texas.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld a trial court judgment of almost $488,000 in favor of attorney Aziz’s client, CB Legal Search, LLC, a small business specializing in legal recruiting. The case arose out of a contractual disagreement over a recruiting agreement.

In March 2009, CB Legal Search introduced Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP, a large law firm with more than 700 attorneys nationwide, to a Chicago attorney and his legal team of insurance specialists. While the head attorney from Chicago was not ultimately hired by Lewis Brisbois, 10 other members of the legal team were — several months later. Lewis Brisbois refused to pay CB Legal Search’s recruiting fee, claiming that a recruiting agreement for the 10 attorneys had not been signed.

In February 2011, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas found that a recruiting agreement did exist and ordered Lewis Brisbois to pay CB Legal Search $353,000. It also awarded CB Legal another $135,000 in attorneys’ fees and court costs. Lewis Brisbois appealed the judgment. Last week, a federal court of appeals affirmed the district court’s decision, ordering Lewis Brisbois to pay CB Legal almost $488,000.

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