Major, Lindsey & Africa offices in Washington. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi / ALM

The national attorney recruitment firm Major, Lindsey & Africa on Friday said it was dropping a lawsuit alleging a former partner who jumped to rival MLegal Group violated the terms of a noncompete provision in her employment agreement.

Lawyers for MLegal and the former Major Lindsey partner, Lauren Drake, indicated earlier this month the parties reached a settlement that would take effect Friday. Major Lindsey's lawyers at the management-side firm Littler Mendelson filed papers Friday afternoon dismissing the case with prejudice. A hearing had been scheduled for early December.

A representative from Major Lindsey said in a statement that "the parties reached a mutually acceptable resolution." Lawyers for Drake and MLegal, represented by a team from Washington's Fortney Scott, were not immediately reached for comment.

The case was poised to open a window to workplace culture at Major Lindsey. Drake claimed a "hostile, male-dominated work environment" contributed to her decision to leave. Major Lindsey disputed Drake's assertions.

Major Lindsey sued MLegal and Drake in Washington's federal trial court in late October. The complaint alleged Drake's employment at MLegal, an upstart firm in the Washington legal market, violated a noncompete clause. Drake had been a Major Lindsey employee for five years and a partner since July. She left the firm in late September.

California-based MLegal, pressing into Washington, has poached other Major Lindsey recruiters, including Jane Sullivan Roberts, whose husband is the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Major Lindsey's suit accused MLegal of "looking to staff its D.C. office with trained recruiters, including Drake, for purposes of gaining a fast-track competitive advantage in the market without having to undertake the investment of time and resources otherwise required."

Drake's lawyers, in letters to Littler Mendelson, disputed that Drake was violating geographic and other restrictions on her post-Major Lindsey employment.

The feud between the rival recruiters was particularly acrimonious because Drake's lawyers alleged office culture—involving alleged inappropriate behavior by unidentified male employees at Major Lindsey—contributed to her decision to go work for MLegal.

"Despite outward appearances, the venerable legal recruitment firm has largely become a far less professional boys' club, leaving a number of its employees and, in particular, many of its stalwart older female employees feeling dismayed, disenfranchised and increasingly uncomfortable in their work environment," Leslie Silverman of Fortney Scott said in a letter to Major Lindsey's lawyers that was included in court filings.

Major Lindsey's general counsel, Maureen Dry-Wasson, said in an earlier statement that the Major Lindsey first heard any complaint from Drake at the time the firm asked her to honor her noncompete agreement.

"We have a zero tolerance policy and would have investigated any report," Dry-Wasson said in the statement. "As a matter of fairness to all the people who work here, I'm disappointed by the use of this tactic in a matter that is very straightforward."

Littler shareholder Paul Kennedy said in one letter to Drake's lawyers that Major Lindsey "offers a diverse work environment, with multiple females in key leadership positions." Kennedy said the firm "embraces the #MeToo Movement, and is prepared to investigate further the multiple generic allegations you raise."

Read more:

Ex-Major Lindsey Partner, Sued Over Noncompete, Asserts Misconduct Claims

Jane Sullivan Roberts, Wife of Chief Justice, Opens DC Outpost for Recruiter MLegal