Pinsent Masons sued by Ramón y Cajal over partner hires

Pinsent Masons is being sued by Ramón y Cajal following Pinsents’ hire of a team of lawyers from the Spanish firm earlier this year.

Pinsents hired four partners from Ramón y Cajal to open a Madrid office after talks about a merger were unsuccessful. The partners who made the move were Diego Lozano, Antonio Sánchez Montero, Inma Castello, and Idoya Arteagabeitia from Ramón y Cajal.

However, Ramón y Cajal is claiming that the hiring of the partners was in breach of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that contained a “non-hiring clause”, as well as a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) that included a “no solicitation” clause.

However, in a defence filed at the UK’s High Court, Pinsents claimed it did not sign the MOU.

Pinsents claims that the partners that it recruited from Ramón y Cajal, following the collapse of the proposed merger, were not solicited but instead contacted Pinsents independently with a proposal to become the founding members of the UK firm’s Madrid office.

A Pinsents statement said: ““We are disappointed by this litigation which we don’t believe has merit. As we build our business, we take great care to meet the responsibilities we agree to as part of our discussions with individuals and firms alike. We believe we have always met our responsibilities in relation to Ramón y Cajal and regret they have chosen to take this action.” Ramón y Cajal did not respond to a request for comment.