(Reuters) - DLA Piper on Monday asked a federal judge in Texas to deny a legal recruiter's bid for nearly $2 million in attorneys' fees against it and another law firm as a sanction in a long-running case over alleged employment trade secret theft.
Lawyers for DLA Piper, a global firm with operations in more than 40 countries, argued in a court filing in U.S. district court in Austin that plaintiff MWK Recruiting Inc's demand for fees was "outlandish."
MWK last month accused DLA Piper of "scorched earth" litigation tactics that unnecessarily dragged out the litigation. The recruiting firm, now Counsel Holdings Inc, said it should be awarded fees after winning a $3.6 million judgment against Evan Jowers, a former MWK recruiter accused of violating employment covenants after he left the company. Jowers, represented by DLA until 2020, has denied the claims.
DLA's attorneys at Beck Redden in their court filing told U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman that MWK's demand against the firm was "a meritless attempt to locate a deep pocket from which to collect, long after DLA Piper exited from this litigation."
Beck Redden's Fields Alexander told Reuters on Tuesday that "DLA Piper vigorously denies that its representation of Mr. Jowers was in any way improper."
A representative from DLA did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
MWK's attorney, Robert Kinney, who led the recruiting firm, did not immediately reply to a similar message.
Jowers is represented now by...
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