Sivin-Tobin Loses Bid to Win Fee From Akin Group

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld has won an appeal in a dispute with recruiting firm, Sivin-Tobin Associates, who claimed they were owed a placement fee for a lawyer the firm hired in 2006. In an unsigned decision, the Appellate Division, 1^st Department upheld a lower court’s dismissal last year of the suit brought by Sivin-Tobin Associates.

Sivin-Tobin sued Akin Gump in 2006 for breach of contract after a different recruiter received a $227,500 fee for placing Chang-Joo Kim. Sivin-Tobin claimed that it had an implied contract with the law firm, but Akin Gump said that it’s decision to hire Kim was based on a referral from another recruiter.

The appeals court said that there was not enough evidence to establish and implied contract. The court also said that an implied contract could not be inferred, as the law firm never hired any of the 10 candidates the recruiter had referred to the firm over the past decade.