In Sonnenschein Poaching Case, Huron Finds Itself on the Defensive

Last month, The Am Law Daily reported that Huron Consulting Group had filed an intriguing lawsuit against Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal in state trial court in Chicago, accusing the firm of illegally recruiting several Huron employees to start its own competing health care consulting group. The suit (filed by Steptoe & Johnson) also accused five ex-Huron staffers, now all at Sonnenschein, of violating non-compete and non-solicitation agreements that banned them from leaving Huron and recruiting Huron employees and clients.

Flash forward a month, and it’s Huron on the defensive. First, Sonnenschein and its attorneys at Schiff Hardin recently filed a 94-page response to the Huron suit, essentially denying every major plank of the complaint — including the from the Huron employees who jumped to Sonnenschein allegedly characterizing the firm as a cash cow willing to fork over whatever salary they requested. (According to the court papers, one ex-Huron defendant allegedly told a friend that Sonnenschein “didn’t blink” when presented with outrageous salary demands.)